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Article
Publication date: 2 February 2024

Justice Williams, Frank Fugar, Emmanuel Adinyira and Kofi Agyekum

Effective safety communication facilitates the sharing of relevant knowledge that helps to improve safety behaviours, such as superior hazard identification and compliance. This…

Abstract

Purpose

Effective safety communication facilitates the sharing of relevant knowledge that helps to improve safety behaviours, such as superior hazard identification and compliance. This study aims to explore channels by which construction companies can effectively communicate health and safety (H&S) among communities of their operations.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a quantitative research approach, this study addressed the knowledge gap through a cross-sectional survey of 250 contractors (comprising 155 building and 95 road contractors) involved in various projects in the Ghanaian construction industry. These contractors were selected by using a stratified simple random sampling technique. Data obtained from the survey was analysed through descriptive (i.e. frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (i.e. exploratory factor analysis) statistical analyses.

Findings

The findings from the mean scores revealed that all the 12 communication channels identified in the literature, confirmed through piloting and examined by the respondents, were important channels through which construction companies can effectively communicate H&S amongst communities of their operations. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a clustering of the 12 channels of communication into 5 components: “safety demonstration in the community”; “social media”; “mass media”; “community engagement”; and “opinion leaders”.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers construction project managers the means of managing one of the major stakeholders of a construction project (the community). It provides an actionable opportunity that can be leveraged strategically to integrate community members into projects to promote synergy and local content inclusion while gaining a peaceful atmosphere to achieve their project goals.

Practical implications

Practically, this study provides construction project managers with a means of managing one of the major stakeholders of a construction project (the community) and also demonstrates the integration of community members into projects to promote synergy and local content inclusion. This would give construction organisations a peaceful atmosphere to accomplish their project objectives.

Social implications

The social implication of this study is that the study offers society a means of creating safer Ghanaian communities by offering them the knowledge of identifying hazards and avoiding risky behaviours, creating a good safety atmosphere in these communities.

Originality/value

This study presents construction organisations with a unique opportunity to transfer and share novel external knowledge within a different social system (the community). It contributes to the state-of-the-art knowledge in H&S communication by providing channels through which H&S can be communicated in a developing country such as Ghana.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2023

Seh Young Kim and Dai Binh Tran

This paper investigated the relationship between intellectual capital (IC)/its components, and the business performance of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigated the relationship between intellectual capital (IC)/its components, and the business performance of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The panel data set was obtained from the Vietnam SME database. Using the value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) approach for IC measurement, this paper employs various panel data estimation approaches, including fixed effects (FE) and the generalized method of moments (GMM), to examine the relationship between IC and the financial performance of SMEs in Vietnam.

Findings

The result suggests that the value creation activities of SMEs in Vietnam mainly occur on the basis of physical and financial capital. In other words, the findings indicate that Vietnamese SMEs mainly depend on physical and financial capital to profit: they have not fully utilized their human capital and structural capital, two main components of IC for value creation.

Practical implications

The results underline the urgency of effective management of tangible and IC to boost the utilization of human and structural capital to increase the profitability of Vietnamese SMEs. The results lead to suggesting a series of policy recommendations to achieve the objective.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to examine the relationship between IC and the financial performance of SMEs in Vietnam, contributing to the literature on IC in emerging countries.

Details

Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-4323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2023

Osnat Roth-Cohen and Tsuriel Rashi

This research aims to conceptualize online shaming discourse in virtual communities and to serve as a practical guide for online community managers and members.

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to conceptualize online shaming discourse in virtual communities and to serve as a practical guide for online community managers and members.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual study explores the construction of meanings in human interaction in online communities by presenting a conceptual model, “The Triple-Responsibility Model in Online Communities,” that is based on Kantian ethics.

Findings

The model includes characterizing the roles of core participants in online communities: writer, reader and group manager; and delineating four ethical principles – truth, necessity, proportionality and caution – that can help society find the golden mean between social change and respecting human dignity and concern for an individual’s public image and provide a theoretical contribution and practical guidelines.

Research limitations/implications

It addresses shaming in virtual communities by suggesting a balance of several key principles, including truth, necessity, proportionality and caution. This is a new conceptualization of online shaming relevant to today's digital arena.

Practical implications

The guidelines can contribute to the ongoing political debate over what constitutes appropriate and justified regulation. Moreover, Facebook community leaders are responsible for formatting the group’s identity, the technical facets of group management and for setting group boundaries and determining the rules of participation. The posited rules may affect social media group managers, as they are called upon to leverage their privileged position and channel their media power into influencing online discourse.

Social implications

The current study provides insights into how shaming can be used as a legitimate tool in society by implementing an ethical approach, resulting in guidelines that restrict online discourse for participants in virtual communities and affect the work of social media group managers and policymakers.

Originality/value

By presenting a new conceptual model, the authors suggest that ethics are a helpful tool and offer insights into how online communities' participants and managers should use their voice and balance between shaming and maintaining the dignity of the individual.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2024

Allison Wu

This study examines the effect of female governors (gender effect) on environmental performance in terms of state-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in United States.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the effect of female governors (gender effect) on environmental performance in terms of state-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in United States.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used annual data from 1970 to 2020 to investigate the relationship between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. Hypothesis was tested through ordinary least squares regression (OLS). The results of the study were also validated using propensity score matching and a difference-in-difference approach.

Findings

This study provides empirical insights into the relationship between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. The findings indicate that female governors have a significant negative impact on state-level CO2 emissions per capita. These results suggest that female political leadership is associated with a reduction in CO2 emissions per capita at the state level. The results also show that states under the leadership of female governors experience lower levels of CO2 emissions than those with male governors, indicating female leadership’s potential to promote environmental sustainability.

Practical implications

The findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers, government officials, and other stakeholders involved in the formulation of strategies to promote environmental sustainability. This study highlights the significant role that female political leader play in mitigating CO2 emissions at the state level. It suggests that promoting female in political leadership positions can lead to more environmentally conscious policy decisions and actions, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions per capita. Policymakers should actively encourage women’s participation in leadership roles to utilize their potential contributions to advancing sustainability goals. Furthermore, organizations that focus on environmental issues should prioritize supporting and promoting female leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to environmental sustainability. Ultimately, this study highlights the need for female in political leadership as a potential strategy to address environmental challenges and advance a more sustainable future.

Originality/value

This study pioneers research on the links between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. This study contributes to the literature by emphasizing the potential role of female political leaders in promoting environmental sustainability. Overall, this study enriches the social role and upper echelons theories literature through empirical evidence.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2024

Natália Ransolin, Tarcisio Abreu Saurin, Robyn Clay-Williams, Carlos Torres Formoso, Frances Rapport and John Cartmill

Surgical services are settings where resilient performance (RP) is necessary to cope with a wide range of variabilities. Although RP can benefit from a supportive built…

Abstract

Purpose

Surgical services are settings where resilient performance (RP) is necessary to cope with a wide range of variabilities. Although RP can benefit from a supportive built environment (BE), prior studies have focused on the operating room, giving scant attention to support areas. This study takes a broader perspective, aiming at developing BE design knowledge supportive of RP at the surgical service as a whole.

Design/methodology/approach

Seven BE design prescriptions developed in a previous work in the context of internal logistics of hospitals, and thus addressing interactions between workspaces, were used as a point of departure. The prescriptions were used as a data analysis framework in a case study of the surgical service of a medium-sized private hospital. The scope of the study included surgical and support areas, in addition to workflows involving patients and family members, staff, equipment, sterile instruments and materials, supplies, and waste. Data collection included document analysis, observations, interviews, and meetings with hospital staff.

Findings

Results identified 60 examples of using the prescriptions, 77% of which were related to areas other than the operating rooms. The developed design knowledge is framed as a set of prescriptions, examples, and their association to workflows and areas, indicating where it should be applied.

Originality/value

The design knowledge is new in surgical services and offers guidance to both BE and logistics designers.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2024

Florence Yean Yng Ling and Kelly Kai Li Teh

This study investigated what are the effective leadership styles and practices that boost employees’ work outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of facilities…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated what are the effective leadership styles and practices that boost employees’ work outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of facilities management professionals (FMPs).

Design/methodology/approach

Three predominant leadership styles (transformational, transactional contingent reward and disaster management) were operationalized into 38 leadership practices (X variables) and 8 work outcomes (Y variables). The explanatory sequential research design was adopted. Online questionnaire survey was first conducted on FMPs who managed facilities during the critical periods of COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. In-depth interviews were then carried out with subject matter experts to elaborate on the quantitative findings.

Findings

During the pandemic, FMPs were significantly stressed at work, but also experienced significant job satisfaction and satisfaction with their leaders/supervisors. Statistical results revealed a range of leadership practices that are significantly correlated with FMPs’ work outcomes. One leadership practice is critical as it affects 4 of the 8 FMPs’ work outcomes - frequently acknowledging employees’ good performance during the pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The study explored 3 leadership styles. There are other styles like laissez faire and servant leadership that might also affect work outcomes.

Practical implications

Based on the findings, suggestions were provided to organizations that employ FMPs on how to improve their work outcomes during a crisis such as a pandemic.

Originality/value

The novelty is the discovery that in the context of a global disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the most relevant leadership styles to boost employees’ work outcomes are transactional contingent reward and disaster management leadership. The study adds to knowledge by showing that not one leadership style is superior – all 3 styles are complementary, but distinct, forms of leadership that need to work in tandem to boost FMPs’ work outcomes during a crisis such as a pandemic.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Ödül Bozkurt, Chul Chung, Norifumi Kawai and Motoko Honda-Howard

The paper aims to provide an understanding of how the transfer of progressive human resource management (HRM) practices may or may fail to render multinational enterprises (MNEs…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to provide an understanding of how the transfer of progressive human resource management (HRM) practices may or may fail to render multinational enterprises (MNEs) institutional entrepreneurs creating change in job quality and decent work to underprivileged workers in the low-pay retail sector in Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on survey questionnaire data and interviews with workers and management in a foreign retailer in Japan.

Findings

The findings suggest that even where MNEs may provide some measurable material improvements in job quality, in this case equal pay for equal work, the total outcomes are nevertheless shaped by institutional context and constraints. In this case, the improvement in pay was intertwined with flexibility demands that were possible to meet for some workers but not others. In particular, women with care responsibilities and competing demands on their time were not able to experience “decent work” in the same way as others.

Research limitations/implications

The study had a relatively low response rate, due to lack of discretion over time experienced by workers in Japan, as well as limited data on program outcomes, with interviews conducted with a small number of participants.

Practical implications

The study suggests that spaces and opportunities exist for MNEs to diverge from dominant practices in given host country locations and exercise a level of agency as emissaries of decent work but successful outcomes require a very thorough understanding of individual worker experiences within the institutional constraints of given environments.

Social implications

The study offers insights into the complexities of initiatives by MNEs to contribute to the provision of decent work, particularly for workers in underprivileged positions including women in low-pay sectors such as retail, as firm-level practices lead to variable outcomes when filtered through local institutions.

Originality/value

The study brings together a focus on firm-level practices that inform much of the international HRM and international management scholarship with an emphasis on the experiences of workers, which is pursued in the sociology of work, to investigate whether MNEs can be actors in the realising of the Sustainable Development Goals around decent work.

Details

Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Kalanit Efrat, Shaked Gilboa, Andreas Wald and Rotem Shneor

Despite the critical contribution of serial backers in advancing crowdfunding volumes, few studies have addressed the phenomenon of serial backing. Research on the motivations of…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the critical contribution of serial backers in advancing crowdfunding volumes, few studies have addressed the phenomenon of serial backing. Research on the motivations of backers suggests that cognitive antecedents influence pledging in crowdfunding projects according to the theory of planned behavior. However, intrinsic factors associated with different dimensions of well-being may also explain crowdfunding support. This study seeks to advance the understanding of drivers of serial backing by combining the theory of planned behavior and the theory of well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on survey data from 336 serial backers, complemented by objective data on the number of campaigns and amounts invested by backers from Headstart, the largest crowdfunding platform in Israel. The research model is tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings indicate that the well-being of serial backers mediates the impact of attitude, subjective norms and social norms on their loyalty. However, while loyalty can be explained by elements of both theories, it does not translate into actual serial backing behavior.

Originality/value

This study is the first to systematically explore serial backers' motivations in crowdfunding and the influence of these motivations on their actual behavior. It combines two previously separate theories, the theory of planned behavior and the theory of well-being.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2023

Matti Haverila, Kai Christian Haverila and Caitlin McLaughlin

This paper aims to examine project management segments based on customer satisfaction drivers and loyalty rather than traditional demographic or behavioural variables.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine project management segments based on customer satisfaction drivers and loyalty rather than traditional demographic or behavioural variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered over 18 consecutive months, and 3,129 surveys were completed using a questionnaire. The statistical methods included partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling, finite mixture segmentation, prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS) and multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA).

Findings

The findings indicate the existence of three segments among system delivery project customers based on the differences in the strengths of the path coefficients in the customer-centric structural model. In Segment 1, satisfaction based on the proposal was crucial for loyalty, with the value-for-money construct negatively impacting the repurchase intent construct. Segment 2 had a solid value-for-money orientation. In Segment 3, the critical path indicated that satisfaction drove repurchase intention, with satisfaction based mainly on the installation.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the segmentation theory by introducing a new way to segment the systems delivery projects customers based on the perceived strength of the relationships in a customer-centric structural model, which aligns with traditional segmentation theory in a way that most segmentation analyses do not. A new segmentation approach to the domain of project management theory is presented. Based on the results, treating the system delivery project customer base as a single homogenous group can lead to managerially misleading conclusions.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Saurabh Srivastava, Pramod Iyer, Arezoo Davari, Wallace A. Williams Jr. and Perry L. Parke

Research in the business-to-business (B2B) and user entrepreneurship literature agrees that “user-driven” perspectives allow entrepreneurs to develop innovative products superior…

Abstract

Purpose

Research in the business-to-business (B2B) and user entrepreneurship literature agrees that “user-driven” perspectives allow entrepreneurs to develop innovative products superior to conventional products. Other researchers argue that such “user-driven” products have limited success and limited impact in certain markets (e.g. niche and industrial markets). This study aims to understand the extent to which user input or co-creation becomes critical in determining product performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The key informant approach is used for data collection. Data were collected using a survey instrument via an online panel. Existing scales are used to measure all the focal constructs. Partial least square-based structural equation modeling was used to check for the psychometric properties of the scales and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that user entrepreneurship is significantly related to firm collaboration efforts and customer collaboration efforts in the B2B market. Both firm collaboration efforts and customer collaboration efforts are significantly related to product performance and mediate the relationship between user entrepreneurship and product performance. Also, findings show that there is an “n” relationship between firm collaboration efforts and product performance.

Originality/value

This study supports the concerns raised by researchers about the dark side of value co-creation and highlights that value co-creation can impede product performance when user entrepreneurs lay too much emphasis on the collaboration processes.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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