Search results

1 – 10 of 436
Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Sharjeel Saleem, Asia Rafiq and Saquib Yusaf

The purpose of this paper is to identify hurdles in women’s rise up the organizational ladder through the epistemic concept of the glass ceiling phenomenon. The secondary aim is…

2848

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify hurdles in women’s rise up the organizational ladder through the epistemic concept of the glass ceiling phenomenon. The secondary aim is to determine how the glass ceiling effect results in women’s failure to secure equal representation in high-ranking executive positions in comparison to males. The study intends to come up with empirical evidences to advance plausible justifications and support for the organizations to manage their workforce with the sense of egalitarianism.

Design/methodology/approach

The questionnaire is administered to a sample of 210 respondents including CEOs, directors, managers, assistants, accountants, doctors and teachers from public and private sectors. The variables that influence the glass ceiling phenomenon are gender (female) represented on the board of directors (BODs), stereotypical behavior and training and development of females to measure the glass ceiling effect. Further, this influence is examined regarding the selection and promotion of the females as candidates, as well as female effectiveness at work. To verify the glass ceiling phenomenon, multiple linear regression analyses with the ordinary least square method are used.

Findings

Drawing on the perspective of the social role theory, the authors identify plausible causes of the glass ceiling phenomenon in the Asian context. The results show the presence of glass ceiling, particularly characterizing its effects on the selection and promotion of the female candidates and their effectiveness. The authors found that glass ceiling was negatively related to both female effectiveness and “selection and promotion.” It was also identified that research variables such as lesser women’s representation on the BODs, training and development and stereotypical attitude toward women promote glass ceiling.

Research limitations/implications

The larger sample and data collection from different cultures would have assured more generalizability. The glass ceiling is affected by numerous variables; other factors can also be explored.

Practical implications

Organizations must consider competitive females in their selection and promotion decision making. Asian countries, especially developing countries such as Pakistan, need to develop policies to encourage active participation of the female workforce in upper echelon. The equal employment policies will reduce the dependency ratio of females, consequently driving the country’s economic growth.

Social implications

Societies need to change their stereotype attitudes toward women and encourage them to use their potential to benefit societies by shattering glass ceilings that continue to place women at a disadvantage. Developing a social culture that advances women empowerment will contribute to social and infrastructure development in Asian countries.

Originality/value

This paper adds a thought-provoking attitude of organizations in South Asia, especially in Pakistani societies that play a role in creating a glass ceiling, more so to shatter it even in 2016. This study compels firms in Pakistan and other Asian regions to use unbiased practices by investigating the impact of glass ceiling on female effectiveness that has not previously been conducted in the Asian context. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study of glass ceiling in Pakistani context is first in the literature.

Details

South Asian Journal of Business Studies, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-628X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Omkar Dastane, Muhammad Rafiq and Jason J. Turner

This study investigates the implications and significance of immersive technologies (viz. metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality) in organizational learning and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the implications and significance of immersive technologies (viz. metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality) in organizational learning and development.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing a strategy map (using Biblioshiny) and network analysis (using VOSViewer), the study analyzed a total of 189 Scopus-indexed documents, spanning the period 1997 to 2023.

Findings

The findings revealed four thematic clusters, knowledge management, training, e-learning, and technology. Each cluster provided insights into the various facets of development and learning in respect to these technologies. The strategy map identified key themes, revealing core ideas, emerging trends, and foundational concepts within the domain.

Practical implications

Organizations can utilize this study to incorporate metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality in organizational development, optimizing training and boosting employee experience and productivity.

Originality/value

While most literature delves into the technical side of immersive technologies, our study uncovers their impact on development and learning in organizations, addressing a critical research gap and offering a guiding framework.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Content available

Abstract

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Article
Publication date: 25 October 2019

Khurshid Ahmad, Arslan Sheikh and Muhammad Rafi

The purpose of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of the Library and Information Science (LIS) scholarly literature published worldwide.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of the Library and Information Science (LIS) scholarly literature published worldwide.

Design/methodology/approach

The ISI Web of Science database was used as a source for extracting the data of published documents during the period 2003–2017. The analysis of the published literature was based on the following indicators: research productivity of each county, annual publications, annual citations, highly cited articles, highly cited LIS journals, most productive institutions in the field of LIS and most prolific authors. The types of documents included in this study were research articles, conference proceeding papers, book reviews and editorials.

Findings

The findings revealed that the USA had the highest overall output of LIS scholarly publications. The year 2016 was identified as the most productive year for the number of publications, whereas 2017 was identified as the most productive year for the number of citations. “Impact of data sources on citation counts and rankings of LIS faculty: Web of Science versus Scopus and Google Scholar” was the most highly cited article. The Journal of Medical Library Association was the most highly cited journal in LIS. Indiana University from the USA was the most productive LIS research institution. Mike Thelwall, from the UK, is identified as the most prolific author in LIS.

Originality/value

The study will be of interest for those researchers, who intend to conduct bibliometric research studies in LIS.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2011

Shuddhasattwa Rafiq and Ruhul Salim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the short‐ and long‐run causal relationship between energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) of six emerging economies of Asia

2241

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the short‐ and long‐run causal relationship between energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) of six emerging economies of Asia. The importance of identifying the direction of causality emanates from its relevance in national policy‐making issues regarding energy conservation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs co‐integration and vector error correction modeling along with generalized impulse response functions and varience decomposition tests to check the robustness of the findings.

Findings

The empirical results show that there exists unidirectional short‐ and long‐run causality running from energy consumption to GDP for China, uni‐directional short‐run causality from output to energy consumption for India, whilst bi‐directional short‐run causality for Thailand. Neutrality between energy consumption and income is found for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. Both the generalized variance decompositions and impulse response functions confirm the direction of causality.

Research limitations/implications

These findings have important policy implications for the countries concerned. The results suggest that while India may directly initiate energy conservation measures, China and Thailand may opt for a balanced combination of alternative polices.

Originality/value

Many economists and social scientists are claiming that the increased demand for energy from developing countries like China and India is one of the major reasons for the energy price hikes in recent times. In this backdrop, it is justified to search causal relationship between energy consumption and national output (GDP) of some developing countries from Asia. Since the traditional bivariate approach suffers from omitted variable problems, this paper employs a trivariate demand side approach consisting of energy consumption, income and prices.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

Faheem Akbar, Muhammad Arif and Muhammad Rafiq

This study aims to examine the research productivity of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s (PARC’s) researchers published during 2001–2020 by using scientometric indicators…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the research productivity of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s (PARC’s) researchers published during 2001–2020 by using scientometric indicators. The study explored the growth and collaborative trends along with authorship and institutional collaborative patterns at the national and international levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in four phases. Firstly, a search strategy was designed to retrieve reliable data sets. During the second phase, data from PARC research was retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). In the third phase, the data were combined, and duplications were removed. Finally, the data were analysed using RStudio and VOSviewer.

Findings

The study identified 2,868 research publications from 16 communication channels spanning over the period of 2001–2020. The growth rate varied during the study period and the year 2020 was the most productive year of the organization. Most of the research was produced in multi-authorship and five authors were dominant. Pakistan Journal of Botany was the most preferred and cited source. Moreover, PARC research collaboration with Pakistani researchers was more than their international counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

Like other research, this research has some limitations. For example, this research is based on secondary data extracted from WoS and Scopus databases, world-renowned online academic. However, researchers should keep in mind while interpreting the results of this study. Secondly, the research publications published by PARC researchers during 2001–2020 were considered. Finally, this research considered English language literature only.

Practical implications

The study’s key theoretical contribution is its strategy for merging WoS and Scopus in RStudio, while its findings could assist agriculture research stakeholders in identifying new areas of research, awards, promotions and identification of research gaps.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to use scientometric indicators to evaluate PARC’s research productivity. This detailed analysis provides a deeper understanding of PARC’s contribution to agriculture research and its potential implications.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2015

Md Nuruzzaman

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry…

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

Details

Sustaining Competitive Advantage Via Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management, and System Dynamics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-764-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 August 2023

Mohammad Rifat Rahman, Md. Mufidur Rahman and Roksana Akter

This study aims to investigate the interplay between renewable energy development, unemployment and GDP growth within Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The research…

1506

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the interplay between renewable energy development, unemployment and GDP growth within Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The research underscores the significant role of renewable energy plays in stimulating economic growth and mitigating unemployment, offering crucial policy insights for sustainable growth in South Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) framework and Toda Yamamoto causality through the vector autoregressive (VAR) approach, the study analyzes the long-term and short-term impacts of these variables from 1990 to 2019.

Findings

This study reveals a significant co-integration among renewable energy consumption, unemployment and GDP growth in selected South Asian countries. The long-term estimation shows renewable energy consumption influences negatively economic progression in Bangladesh, with no notable correlation with unemployment. In contrast, Sri Lanka demonstrates an optimal relationship among all the variables. Short-run assessments reveal a significant positive relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in India, while an inverse relationship is evident in Pakistan. Moreover, the relationship between unemployment and economic progression, the result shows a negative and significant relationship in India and Sri Lanka.

Research limitations/implications

The study emphasizes the need for policy development concerning renewable energy development, unemployment reduction and sustainable economic growth in South Asia. While limitations exist, future research can expand upon this work by incorporating varied data, additional countries or alternative modeling techniques.

Originality/value

This research offers a unique exploration into the multidimensional impacts of renewable energy consumption, unemployment and economic growth in the South Asian context, an area previously unexplored in such depth.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2009

George G. Panigyrakis and Prokopis K. Theodoridis

The majority of research pertaining to internal marketing (IM) is conceptual and still remains so even at present. The lack of widely accepted definitions of the IM concept and a…

5288

Abstract

Purpose

The majority of research pertaining to internal marketing (IM) is conceptual and still remains so even at present. The lack of widely accepted definitions of the IM concept and a relevant valid measure has lead to increased attempts by academia to investigate the relative concepts and measures. The purpose of this paper is to examine a synthesis of IM and investigates its effect on business performance in a retail context.

Design/methodology/approach

The context of this paper is within supermarket chains in Greece with nation wide coverage. A survey is designed and implemented using the branch managers.

Findings

SEM analysis indicates five dimensions of the IM construct: formal interaction, reward systems, feedback, internal procedures and policies and internal customer orientation (ICO). Retailers seem to adopt in an embryonic stage a concept of IM. IM indeed has a positive effect on business performance.

Research limitations/implications

Single key informant, single context of the paper are considerations when examining research limitations.

Practical implications

The embryonic stage of adopting and implementing IM within supermarket chains illustrates a certain manner of managing the internal customer; centralisation of procedures and tactics. Even if the concept of IM is partially exploited, the respective organisational behaviours clearly have a positive impact on both financial and non‐financial aspects of retail performance, thus revealing their importance.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the rare empirical investigation of the IM notion in the firm and provides evidence on both its synthesis and its impact on business performance. The authors synthesize the concepts of internal market and ICOs providing a new approach to IM. Construct and research propositions have been axiomatic and in an only conceptual context until recently.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 37 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Muhammad Arif, Kanwal Ameen and Muhammad Rafiq

The delivery of information services in higher education is increasingly relying on Web-based systems. The low adoption and underutilization of information systems have been major…

1322

Abstract

Purpose

The delivery of information services in higher education is increasingly relying on Web-based systems. The low adoption and underutilization of information systems have been major problems for developing countries such as Pakistan in terms of realizing their full benefits. This study aims to investigate factors affecting student use of Allama Iqbal Open University’s (AIOU) Web-based services by using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) from the perspective of Pakistani distance education.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has adopted quantitative research design with the UTAUT model as a theoretical framework. A self-completion structured questionnaire-based survey has been administered to 388 master’s level students, selected through systematic sampling from the target population. The response rate was 82 per cent (318). All statistical tests have been performed using IBM SPSS (version 20.0) and Process macro for SPSS.

Findings

Findings of the model’s hypotheses reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence are significant predictors of student behavioural intention to use AIOU Web-based services, whereas actual student use is dependent on facilitating conditions and student behavioural intention to use. The impact of moderating variables with respect to age, gender and experience did not influence the actual use of the Web services. However, the research model significantly measured (62.1 per cent) the actual use of AIOU Web-based services by the students.

Research limitations/implications

This study is delimited to the UTAUT model to investigate the phenomena. Besides this, the context of the study is the voluntary instead of mandatory usage of Web services. A study conducted in mandatory settings, in which students are bound to use Web services, may have different results.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to apply the UTAUT model to investigate the factors affecting student use of Web-based services from the perspective of distance education and the findings prove strong support for the model.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

1 – 10 of 436