Search results
1 – 10 of 53Clinton Aigbavboa, Andrew Ebekozien, Emmanuel Kofi Afetorgbor, Bernard Martins Arthur-Aidoo and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala
Several organisations dedicate a portion of their budget and business websites to corporate social responsibility (CSR) events. This illustrates the significance attached to CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
Several organisations dedicate a portion of their budget and business websites to corporate social responsibility (CSR) events. This illustrates the significance attached to CSR events. In Ghana, a social disconnection may exist between the community and the construction sector. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the benefits of CSR in the construction industry, the implementation challenges and measures to enhance CSR in the Ghanaian built environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative technique was adopted using an extensive review of literature supported by structured interviews and analysed by context analysis. The participants include ministry and municipal directors, contractor associations, unions and institutions of engineers. The study achieved saturation.
Findings
Findings reveal that the construction industry’s CSR impacts the community’s social behaviour and has economic and environmental significance. The absence of government implementation policy and finance constraints were identified as Ghana’s major CSR implementation challenges. Also, besides the government instituting a mandatory policy on CSR in the industry, findings suggest that stakeholders, especially players in the industry and policymakers, should form an integral part of the CSR decisions.
Practical implications
Findings will support and recommend holistic measures to mitigate CSR implementation hindrances and encourage CSR via a central government's mandatory policy in the Ghanaian built environment.
Originality/value
Besides most studies used questionnaires, the contribution deduced shows that construction companies' management could use the knowledge from this study and involve all the relevant stakeholders when undertaking CSR activities. Also, the study would fill the scarcity of relevant materials concerning CSR in Ghanaian construction sector.
Details
Keywords
Andrew Dudash and Jacob E. Gordon
The purpose of this case study was to complement existing weeding and retention criteria beyond the most used methods in academic libraries and to consider citation counts in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study was to complement existing weeding and retention criteria beyond the most used methods in academic libraries and to consider citation counts in the identification of important scholarly works.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a small sample of items chosen for withdrawal from a small liberal arts college library, this case study looks at the use of Google Scholar citation counts as a metric for identification of notable monographs in the social sciences and mathematics.
Findings
Google Scholar citation counts are a quick indicator of classic, foundational or discursive monographs in a particular field and should be given more consideration in weeding and retention analysis decisions that impact scholarly collections. Higher citation counts can be an indicator of higher circulation counts.
Originality/value
The authors found little indication in the literature that Google Scholar citation counts are being used as a metric for identification of notable works or for retention of monographs in academic libraries.
Details
Keywords
Ellie Norris, Shawgat Kutubi, Steven Greenland and Ruth Wallace
This study explores citizen activism in the articulation of a politicised counter-account of Aboriginal rights. It aims to uncover the enabling factors for a successful challenge…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores citizen activism in the articulation of a politicised counter-account of Aboriginal rights. It aims to uncover the enabling factors for a successful challenge to established political norms and the obstacles to the fullest expression of a radical imagining.
Design/methodology/approach
Laclau and Mouffe's theory of hegemony and discourse is used to frame the movement's success in challenging the prevailing system of urbanised healthcare delivery. Empirical materials were collected through extensive ethnographic fieldwork.
Findings
The findings from this longitudinal study identify the factors that predominantly influence the transformational success of an Yaṉangu social movement, such as the institutionalisation of group identity, articulation of a discourse connected to Aboriginal rights to self-determination, demonstration of an alternative imaginary and creation of strong external alliances.
Originality/value
This study offers a rich empirical analysis of counter-accounting in action, drawing on Aboriginal governance traditions of non-confrontational discourse and collective accountability to conceptualise agonistic engagement. These findings contribute to the practical and theoretical construction of democratic accounting and successful citizen activism.
Details
Keywords
Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Lawrence Yao Addo, Andrew Ebekozien, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala and Bernard Martins Arthur-Aidoo
Access to clean drinking water is a major encumbrance in developing countries. In Ghana, urban water supply is below internationally recognised standards, especially among the…
Abstract
Purpose
Access to clean drinking water is a major encumbrance in developing countries. In Ghana, urban water supply is below internationally recognised standards, especially among the urban poor, sub-urban and rural communities. Stakeholders and institutional inefficiencies may be hindrances facing the Ghanaian water supply process. Therefore, this study aims to appraise the motivational factors and outcome of stakeholders’ engagement and identify the factors that influence effective institutional management of urban water supply in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Sequential exploratory mixed methods were adopted and analysed to proffer answers to the research questions. Nineteen participants and 521 respondents were sampled for the qualitative and quantitative phases.
Findings
Findings reveal that the institutional processes and stakeholder engagement significantly influence the effectiveness of the management of urban water supply in Ghana. Findings identified 35 motivational factors and categorised them into the health of the population, socio-economic, technological and innovation trends, policy reform and adaptive governance. Also, the 22 institutional factors identified were categorised into three groups: regulatory framework, ethics for managing water supply and the culture of managing water supply.
Originality/value
Besides the study addressing the theoretical gap regarding which variables are germane in influencing the effective management of urban water supply, the study may be among the top studies that have appraised the role of stakeholders in the institutional management of urban water supply in Ghana.
Details
Keywords
Daniel Coughlin, Andrew Dudash and Jacob Gordon
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of automating Google Scholar searching to harvest citation data of monographs for collection analysis.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of automating Google Scholar searching to harvest citation data of monographs for collection analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study discusses the creation and refinement of a Scraper application programming interface query structure created to match library collection inventories to their Google Scholar listings to retrieve citation counts.
Findings
This paper indicates that Google Scholar is a feasible and usable tool for retrieving monograph citation data.
Originality/value
This study shows that Google Scholar citation data can be harvested for monographs in an automated fashion to serve as a source of bibliographic data, something not typically done outside of individual academics and writers tracking their personal academic impact factors.
Details
Keywords
Moza Saeed Alketbi and Syed Zamberi Ahmad
This study aims to examine the roles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), green innovation (GI) and knowledge management (KM) in boosting sustainable practices (SPs). It also…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the roles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), green innovation (GI) and knowledge management (KM) in boosting sustainable practices (SPs). It also investigates the mediating effect of green innovation and the moderating effect of KM in the relationship between CSR and SPs.
Design/methodology/approach
Using measurement scales adapted from existing studies, a quantitative methodology with causal and deductive reasoning was used on data from an online survey with 322 respondents in manufacturing firms in the United Arab Emirates.
Findings
There was no direct significant positive relationship between CSR and SPs; the mediating role of GI was evident, whereas the moderating role of KM was not present.
Research limitations/implications
Only manufacturing enterprises are considered in this study, with a single geographical case study highlighting CSR efforts.
Practical implications
The findings reveal the positive influence of GI on CSR and SPs. This study contributes to the understanding of the influence of green processes and product innovation on applying social, environmental and sustainability practices to enhance the overall productivity, compliance, performance and well-being of the community.
Originality/value
This study collectively explores the causal relationships between these factors, besides offering new insights into the manufacturing industry in an emerging market.
Details
Keywords
Taslima Nasreen, Ron Baker and Davar Rezania
This review aims to summarize the extent to which sustainability dimensions are covered in the selected qualitative literature, the theoretical and ontological underpinnings that…
Abstract
Purpose
This review aims to summarize the extent to which sustainability dimensions are covered in the selected qualitative literature, the theoretical and ontological underpinnings that have informed sustainability research and the qualitative methodologies used in that literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a systematic review to examine prior empirical studies in sustainability reporting between 2000 and 2021.
Findings
This review contributes to sustainability research by identifying unexplored and underexplored areas for future studies, such as Indigenous people’s rights, employee health and safety practice, product responsibility, gender and leadership diversity. Institutional and stakeholder theories are widely used in the selected literature, whereas moral legitimacy remains underexplored. The authors suggest that ethnographic and historical research will increase the richness of academic research findings on sustainability reporting.
Research limitations/implications
This review is limited to qualitative studies only because its richness allows researchers to apply various methodological and theoretical approaches to understand engagement in sustainability reporting practice.
Originality/value
This review follows a novel approach of bringing the selected studies’ scopes, theories and methodologies together. This approach permits researchers to formulate a research question coherently using a logical framework for a research problem.
Details
Keywords
Martha Sibley, Kaitlin Peach, Maggie León-Corwin, Pavithra Priyadarshini Selvakumar, Kaitlin Diodosio, Andrew Fox, Charles Spurlock and Kristin Olofsson
Across the USA, local municipalities and providers struggle to reliably supply water and electricity when faced with severe weather events induced by climate change. Previous…
Abstract
Purpose
Across the USA, local municipalities and providers struggle to reliably supply water and electricity when faced with severe weather events induced by climate change. Previous research suggests those at higher risk for experiencing the detrimental effects of climate change have higher climate-related concerns. Additionally, research demonstrates variation in trust in institutions and perceptions of environmental justice along racial lines, which can influence concern for access to resources. Informed by this research, the authors ask two questions: how do Oklahomans’ trust in institutions, environmental justice perceptions and global climate change risk perceptions differ based on race, and how do these factors influence concern for water and electrical infrastructure? The purpose of this study is to better understand Oklahomans’ trust in information from institutions, environmental justice perceptions, global climate change risk perceptions and concern for water and electrical infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a series of nested regression models to analyze the survey responses of 2,687 Oklahoman adults. The data were pulled from Wave 3 of the Oklahoma Meso-scale Integrated Socio-geographic Network survey, which is part of the National Science Foundation EPSCoR S3OK project.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the complex interplay of riskscapes – or risk landscapes – that encompass institutional trust, perceptions of environmental justice, climate change and infrastructure in Oklahoma. The authors find evidence that education and income are better predictors of institutional trust and environmental justice than race among our respondents. Political ideology emerges as a significant predictor across all hypotheses.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of complex dynamics involving race, perceptions of environmental justice, trust in information from institutions, risk perceptions of climate change and concerns for water and electrical infrastructure in Oklahoma.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to investigate the relationship between all three dimensions of perceived strategic value of m-commerce (operational support, managerial productivity and strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between all three dimensions of perceived strategic value of m-commerce (operational support, managerial productivity and strategic decision aids), antecedents of m-commerce (organizational readiness, external context and m-commerce competence) and m-commerce adoption. The present study will further examine a mediation model in which all three dimensions of perceived strategic value of m-commerce affect m-commerce adoption through IT investment.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey questionnaire was adopted to test the validity of this research and hypotheses. Data were collected from 178 Chinese family businesses via snowball sampling.
Findings
The results show that all three dimensions of perceived strategic value of m-commerce (operational support, managerial productivity and strategic decision aids) are positively connected to m-commerce adoption. Also, it was found that IT investment partially or fully mediates the relationship between all these dimensions of perceived strategic value of m-commerce and m-commerce adoption.
Originality/value
This study would enhance owners' and managers' understanding of the relationship between perceived strategic value of m-commerce, IT investment, antecedents of m-commerce and m-commerce adoption, thus contributing to their future adoption.
Details
Keywords
Abdullah Alajmi and Andrew C. Worthington
This study aims to examine the link between boards and audit committees and firm performance in Kuwaiti listed firms in the context of recent and extensive corporate governance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the link between boards and audit committees and firm performance in Kuwaiti listed firms in the context of recent and extensive corporate governance regulatory reform.
Design/methodology/approach
Panel data regression analysis with fixed effects and clustered standard errors of firm performance for 61–97 listed industrial and services firms in Kuwait over a seven-year period. The dependent variables are the returns on assets and equity, the debt-to-equity ratio and leverage and Tobin’s Q and the independent variables comprise board of directors and audit committee characteristics, including size, the number of meetings and the numbers of independent and outside board and expert committee members. Firm size, subsidiary status and cash flow serve as control variables.
Findings
Mixed results with respect to the characteristics of the board of directors. Board size and independent and outsider board members positively relate only to Tobin’s Q and insiders only to debt to equity. For audit committee characteristics, committee size, independence and expertise positively relate to the return on equity and committee size and expertise only to Tobin’s Q. Of the five performance measures considered, board and audit committee characteristics together best determine Tobin’s Q.
Research limitations/implications
Data from a single country limits generalisability and control variables necessarily limited in a developing market context. Need for qualitative insights into corporate governance reform as a complement to conventional quantitative analysis. In combining accounting and market information, Tobin’s Q appears best able to recognise the performance benefits of good corporate governance in terms of internal organisational change.
Practical implications
The recent corporate governance code and guidelines reforms exert a mixed impact on firm performance, with audit committees, not boards, of most influence. But recent reforms implied most change to boards of directors. One suggestion is that non-market reform may have been unneeded given existing market pressure on listed firms and firms anticipating regulatory change.
Social implications
Kuwait’s corporate governance reforms codified corporate governance practices already in place among many of its firms in pursuit of organisational legitimacy, and while invoking substantial change to audit committees, involved minor change to firm performance, at least in the short term. Some firms may also have delisted in expectation of stronger corporate governance requirements. Regardless, these direct and indirect processes both improved the overall quality of listed firm corporate governance and performance in Kuwait.
Originality/value
Seminal analysis of corporate governance reforms in Kuwait, which have rapidly progressed from no corporate governance code and guidelines to an initially voluntary and then compulsory regime. Only known analysis to incorporate both board of directors and audit committee characteristics. Reveals studies of the corporate governance–firm performance relationship may face difficulty in model specification, and empirical significance, given the complexity of corporate governance codes and guidelines, leads in changing firm behaviour and self-selection of firms into and out of regulated markets.
Details