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1 – 10 of 132Valentina Cucino, Giulio Ferrigno, James Crick and Andrea Piccaluga
Recognizing novel entrepreneurial opportunities arising from a crisis is of paramount importance for firms. Hence, understanding the pivotal factors that facilitate firms in this…
Abstract
Purpose
Recognizing novel entrepreneurial opportunities arising from a crisis is of paramount importance for firms. Hence, understanding the pivotal factors that facilitate firms in this endeavor holds significant value. This study delves into such factors within a representative empirical context impacted by a crisis, drawing insights from existing literature on opportunity recognition during such tumultuous periods.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a qualitative inspection of 14 Italian firms during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The authors collected a rich body of multi-source qualitative data, including 34 interviews (with senior managers and entrepreneurs) and secondary data (press releases, videos, web interviews, newspapers, reports and academic articles) in two phases (March–August 2020 and September–December 2020).
Findings
The results suggest the existence of a process model of opportunity recognition during crises based on five entrepreneurial influencing factors (entrepreneurial knowledge, entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial proclivity, entrepreneurial personality and entrepreneurial purpose).
Originality/value
Various scholars have highlighted that, in times of crises, it is not easy and indeed very challenging for entrepreneurs to identify novel entrepreneurial opportunities. However, recent research has shown that crises can also positively impact entrepreneurs and their capacity to identify new entrepreneurial opportunities. Given these findings, not much research has analyzed the process by which entrepreneurs identify novel entrepreneurial opportunities during crises. This study shows that some entrepreneurial influencing factors are very important to identify new entrepreneurial opportunities during crises.
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I. Zografou, E. Galanaki, N. Pahos and I. Deligianni
Previous literature has identified human resources as a key source of competitive advantage in organizations of all sizes. However, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous literature has identified human resources as a key source of competitive advantage in organizations of all sizes. However, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face difficulty in comprehensively implementing all recommended Human Resource Management (HRM) functions. In this study, we shed light on the field of HRM in SMEs by focusing on the context of Greek Small and Medium-sized Hotels (SMHs), which represent a dominant private sector employer across the country.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and 34 in-depth interviews with SMHs' owners/managers, we explore the HRM conditions leading to high levels of performance, while taking into consideration the influence of internal key determinants.
Findings
We uncover three alternative successful HRM strategies that maximize business performance, namely the Compensation-based performers, the HRM developers and the HRM investors. Each strategy fits discreet organizational characteristics related to company size, ownership type and organizational structure.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge this is among the first empirical studies that examine different and equifinal performance-enhancing configurations of HRM practices in SMHs.
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Anna Woodcock, Andy Cook and John McGowan
This study aimed to explore the psychological and relational processes of a service user reflective group on a medium secure forensic ward. The group was conceptualised by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to explore the psychological and relational processes of a service user reflective group on a medium secure forensic ward. The group was conceptualised by the service as a component of the therapeutic offer contributing to the patients’ journey towards recovery and this study aimed to explore whether the group was being experienced as beneficial, by service users and staff, in relation to recovery concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews from 10 participants who had experience of an existing service user reflective group on a medium secure forensic ward. Participants in the study were patients who attended the group (6) and staff members who facilitated the group (4). The data collected were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methodology.
Findings
Results formed a flexible, cyclical model based on five key categories: “Group Identity”, “Linking Self with Others”, “The Changing Self”, “Living Visibly in a System” and “Moving On.”
Practical implications
Findings indicate that service user reflective groups in forensic inpatient settings can contribute to increased interpersonal effectiveness and personal recovery.
Originality/value
The role of service user reflective groups in secure recovery has not been explored empirically to date, although they are a suggested intervention to enhance relational security and to aid therapeutic progress within a secure recovery framework. This study aimed to begin to address this gap in research and understanding.
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Małgorzata Anna Olszak and Iwona Kowalska
Despite the extensive debate on the impact of bank competition on risk-taking, there is no evidence of its role in procyclicality of loan-loss provisions (LLPs). The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the extensive debate on the impact of bank competition on risk-taking, there is no evidence of its role in procyclicality of loan-loss provisions (LLPs). The purpose of this study is to find out what is the role of competition in the procyclicality of LLPs.
Design/methodology/approach
Using over 70,000 bank-level observations in 103 countries in 2004–2015 and the LLPs model, this study interacts competition with business cycle to check what is the effect of competition on procyclicality of LLPs.
Findings
This study finds that intense competition is associated with more procyclicality of LLPs. Increased procyclicality of LLPs in a more competitive environment is binding for high-income countries. The opposite effect is shown for low-income countries.
Research limitations/implications
Future research can be extended by testing the role of additional factors – such as regulations, supervision or institutional protection of shareholders' rights, in the association between procyclicality and competition.
Practical implications
The main message of this paper is that the competitive environment changes the procyclicality of LLPs. The results are important from the point of view of the COVID-19 pandemic because government interventions during lockdowns will affect competition in the banking industry and in other industries of the economy.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the extant research in three dimensions. First, it shows that competition is an important factor behind procyclicality of LLPs. Second, it adds to the research on the links between competition and financial stability. Third, it shows that the link between competition and procyclicality of LLPs depends on the economic development of the country in which the banks are located.
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Laura Galloway, Esinath Ndiweni and Rebecca Stirzaker
This article explores the use of informal socio-cultural practices to mitigate formal institutional voids in a qualitative study of informal self-employment in Bulawayo in…
Abstract
This article explores the use of informal socio-cultural practices to mitigate formal institutional voids in a qualitative study of informal self-employment in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Informal socio-cultural values and practices such as ubuntu and indaba were observed to be making meaningful contribution to business and lives. Development of formal institutions as a consequence was not observed though. The article proposes that economic development efforts might best serve communities in sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating institutional development that converges with local socio-culturally informed practices rather than focus on attempts to absorb informal work into a homogenously understood formal institutional system.
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This paper addresses the under-explored collateral damage of economic sanctions, shedding light on the disproportionate harm endured by the most vulnerable segments of societies…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper addresses the under-explored collateral damage of economic sanctions, shedding light on the disproportionate harm endured by the most vulnerable segments of societies, which at the same time lack political influence to effect the ruling government into change. The primary objective is to review the literature on humanitarian repercussions associated with sanctions, concluding if they really are a comparably human way of international interference.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing a systematic literature review, adhering to the PRISMA approach, and incorporating key term definitions and clear selection criteria, this review analyses 52 studies sourced from Scopus and EconBiz.
Findings
The surveyed literature reveals profound adverse impacts of sanctions on health, economic well-being, inequality, and education. Critical gaps in the literature such as disproportional focus on extreme cases like Iran and Iraq, scarce literature on effects on education and inequality, and predominantly inadequate control groups are identified, limiting the generalizability of existing findings.
Originality/value
This paper is the first systematic and replicable review of the literature on the effects of sanctions using a capabilistic approach to define poverty. Highlighting gaps in the current research landscape underscores the limited generalizability of reviewed results. Providing a well-structured summary of existing literature, this work serves as a foundation for future research.
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Anna Motylska-Kuzma, Izabela Szymanska and Krzysztof Safin
This paper investigates the impact of family influence measured by the F-PEC scale on private enterprise (both family firms and lone founders) leadership succession strategy.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the impact of family influence measured by the F-PEC scale on private enterprise (both family firms and lone founders) leadership succession strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research dataset is comprised of 390 private enterprises whose head offices were situated in the voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Wielkopolska in Poland. The authors collected data through CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) method, as well as through comprehensive, structured interviews with company owners. Data were analysed using hierarchical logistic regression for each type of succession strategy.
Findings
The results suggest that increased family influence does not necessarily lead to intra-family leadership succession in private enterprises. Importantly, a range of findings contradicted authors' predictions. The relationship between the overall F-PEC scale values signifying the multi-faceted family influence over the business and the choice of internal successor was weakly negative for the total sample; also, the higher the overlap between family and business values and the higher the commitment to family business, as evidenced by the Culture subscale, the lower was the occurrence of intra-family successor choice in the population of lone founders. The Culture subscale also increased the prevalence of lack of succession planning in the sample of lone founders.
Originality/value
While several studies suggests that family firms may be more prone to choose an intra-family succession scenario, it remains unclear how lower levels of business and succession experience, may influence the successor choice. Indeed, some studies suggest that a strong family influence over a business, may stimulate family firms to choose a family outsider as a business leader. Therefore, the key contribution of this study is contextualizing the response to an ongoing succession debate. This study investigates the strategic choices of companies in the first generation of ownership operating in Poland, which serves as an example of a post-transition economy. While the characteristics of this economic environment may be unique, the authors discuss how the surprising findings may add to the understanding of the general succession processes present in private enterprises.
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Macarena Torroba Diaz, Anna Bajo-Sanjuan, Ángela María Callejón Gil, Ana Rosales-Pérez and Lidia López Marfil
This study aims to build a model for the analysis of the environmental behavior of university students.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to build a model for the analysis of the environmental behavior of university students.
Design/methodology/approach
A partial least square method was adopted, and a questionnaire on intelligence, knowledge, attitude and environmental behavior was performed on 480 Spanish university students.
Findings
The results indicate that environmental intelligence positively affects university students’ environmental behavior through environmental knowledge and attitude.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions of the present study are based on a sample drawn from Spanish university students. Therefore, new studies are needed to cover other educational institutions and cultural contexts.
Practical implications
Many university students’ environmental behavior depends on implementing educational actions that improve their environmental intelligence and knowledge.
Social implications
The study suggests that educational programs should implement strategies that maintain a sense of responsibility toward the sustainable development of university students, ensuring that future generations can live a quality life in a sustainable and safe environment.
Originality/value
The present study identifies the mechanism through which the environmental behavior of university students is formed.
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The US platelet supply is almost exclusively dependent on apheresis donors who are “aging out.” As a result, blood centers and hospitals have been experiencing spot shortages and…
Abstract
Purpose
The US platelet supply is almost exclusively dependent on apheresis donors who are “aging out.” As a result, blood centers and hospitals have been experiencing spot shortages and have resorted to transfusing low-dose platelets. This paper explores using whole blood–derived platelets (WB-PLTs) to supplement the apheresis platelet (APH-PLT) supply.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews the history leading to the current state of the US platelet supply and includes the impact of recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-mandated bacterial mitigation strategies.
Findings
WB-PLTs represent a viable source of platelets that can be used to supplement the APH-PLT supply. Whole blood automation represents a new methodology to more easily prepare WB-PLTs. Advances in donor testing and screening as well as pre-storage leukoreduction have improved the safety of WB-PLTs to the same level as APH-PLTs. Blood services in the US and abroad transfuse WB-PLTs interchangeably in all patient populations.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how the US blood industry is essentially “sole-sourced” in terms of APH-PLTs. In this post-COVID-19 period, when most industries are building redundancies in their supply chains, blood centers should consider WB-PLTs as an additional source of platelets to bolster the US platelet supply.
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Arianna Barbin, Anna Gekoski, Kari Davies and Miranda A.H. Horvath
Several studies have been conducted to understand why the conviction rate for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) remains so low. Increasing pressure and criticism have led…
Abstract
Purpose
Several studies have been conducted to understand why the conviction rate for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) remains so low. Increasing pressure and criticism have led to questioning why improvements in RASSO investigations are proving ineffective. The purpose of this study was to capture police officers’ perspective of police specialism while investigating RASSO.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 82 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data collection spanned across two years, from October 2021 until May 2023, and included police officers from four police forces in England and Wales. Template analysis was used to identify recurrent patterns around police specialism for RASSO.
Findings
Most officers viewed specialism as a tool to improve how police forces prevent and tackle RASSO. In spite of this, the lack of prioritisation of specialist training, roles and units specifically for this crime type has hindered the development of evidence-based practice in policing. The impact on well-being, resources, organisational support and role identity has been explored.
Originality/value
This is the first qualitative study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to look at officers’ insights on police specialism for RASSO in England and Wales. Officers discussed day-to-day challenges associated with conducting RASSO investigations while reflecting on potential advantages related to dedicated specialist units and/or specialist roles.
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