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1 – 10 of 10Mira Schwarz, Franziska Feldmann and Bernhard Schmitz
Due to the increasing burden of stress in the workplace, it is necessary to develop interventions to prevent long-term overload. The present study is based on the concept of…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the increasing burden of stress in the workplace, it is necessary to develop interventions to prevent long-term overload. The present study is based on the concept of art-of-living, which promotes a more reflective and conscious approach to life. In study 1, an online training designed to increase well-being was administered. Study 2 investigated the impact of an art-of-living training in a workplace environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 employed a two-factorial design, crossing time of testing (pre-test, post-test and follow-up-test) with group (three experimental groups; one control group); 67 participants received art-of-living training on their individual weaknesses and/or strengths or alternative control training. Study 2 used repeated measures and a waiting-list control group; 20 employees of a pharmaceutical company took part in the two-day intervention with a two-week learning phase in between.
Findings
The results of Study 1 indicated that even brief online art-of-living interventions can be effective. Significant differences between pre-, post- and follow-up-tests were observed in art-of-living and well-being scores among participants who had undergone training in art-of-living components identified as representing their strengths or a combination of their strengths and their weaknesses. The results of Study 2 also indicated positive outcomes in the experimental group, with significant increases between pre- and post-test in art-of-living, flourishing, positive affect and occupational self-efficacy, and significant decreases in negative affect.
Originality/value
The results demonstrate that art-of-living training can be used to increase art-of-living, well-being and occupational self-efficacy. Therefore, this type of intervention should attract further attention in future studies especially in the context of the workplace.
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Ernst Berg and Bernhard Schmitz
Recent and presumable future developments tend to increase the risks associated with farming activities. These include climate risks, which have always played an important role in…
Abstract
Recent and presumable future developments tend to increase the risks associated with farming activities. These include climate risks, which have always played an important role in farming. Weather‐based instruments can be valuable tools to reduce the risk associated with unfavourable climate events. However, a number of factors could limit the hedging effectiveness of these tools. These factors include basis risk, the impacts of remaining price uncertainty, and diversification effects. This paper addresses the influence of each of these factors. In the final section, an integrated approach for a comprehensive assessment of weather derivatives and other hedging instruments is proposed that is based on the concept of portfolio optimization.
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Bridget Tyma, Rina Dhillon, Prabhu Sivabalan and Bernhard Wieder
The purpose of this study is to examine how accountability is constructed for blockchain systems. With the aim of increasing knowledge on accountability across three different…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how accountability is constructed for blockchain systems. With the aim of increasing knowledge on accountability across three different types of blockchains (public, private and consortium), the researchers ask: how do blockchain systems construct accountability?
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on theorising in the accountability literature to study how blockchains relate to our construction and understanding of accountability. A qualitative field study of the Australian blockchain technology landscape is conducted, with insights garnered from 18 blockchain experts.
Findings
Findings reveal that different types of blockchains employ different forms and mechanisms of accountability and in novel ways previously less acknowledged in the literature. Importantly, this study finds that accountability does not require a principal–agent relation and can still manifest in less pure applications of blockchain technology across a wide range of stakeholders, contrary to that espoused in earlier exhortations of blockchain use in interdisciplinary literature. This study also finds that similar subtypes of accountability operate very differently across public, private and consortium blockchains and there exists an inverse relation between trust and consensus building through transparency as blockchains progress from public to private types. Overall, this study offers novel explanations for the relevance of greater accountability in blockchains, especially when the assumptions of public blockchains are softened and applied as private and consortium blockchains.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the accountability literature by addressing how different blockchain systems reshape the understanding of traditional accounting and accountability practices. This study questions the very need for a principal–agent relation to facilitate accountability and offers an additional perspective to how trust and transparency operate as key mechanisms of accountability.
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Brand theory and practice have remained quite two-dimensional to this day and focus on logos, corporate design, website design, etc. As with atmospheres, it was the sales room…
Abstract
Brand theory and practice have remained quite two-dimensional to this day and focus on logos, corporate design, website design, etc. As with atmospheres, it was the sales room where the brand idea was spatialised early on. This chapter discusses how to spatialise brand theory and to connect it with the place atmosphere model. Moreover, the chapter works out how the bridge between the strategy of an organisation (company, hotel, destination, etc.), its brand personality and the strategy of spatial design can be built. The brand personality shows itself in the long-term handling of the eight W questions of the brand space strategy (Who, Where, Wherein, What, Whom, Way to, What for and Why).
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Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way…
Abstract
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.
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Dina Guglielmi, Rita Chiesa and Greta Mazzetti
The purpose of this paper is to compare how the dimension of attitudes toward future that consists in perception of dynamic future may be affected by desirable goals (desired job…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare how the dimension of attitudes toward future that consists in perception of dynamic future may be affected by desirable goals (desired job flexibility) and probable events (probable job flexibility) in a group of permanent vs temporary employees. Moreover the aim is to explore the gender differences in respect to variables studied.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected using self-report questionnaires on a sample of 710 employees, of which 63 percent women, 57.2 percent permanent employees, and 42.8 percent fixed-term employees.
Findings
The results showed that probable job flexibility mediated the relationship between desired job flexibility and the perception of a dynamic professional future. In addition, the type of contract moderated the interaction effect of job mastery on the relationship between desired and probable flexibility. Job mastery, however, has a direct effect on probable flexibility only on women in fixed-term employment.
Research limitations/implications
The study presented some limitations: the data derived from the self-report questionnaires, respondents participated on a voluntary basis, and the research design was cross-sectional.
Practical implications
The results of this study could be used to influence guidance practitioners’ decisions on the role of antecedents of future orientation (desired flexibility, probable flexibility, and job mastery) in designing programs and interventions for career management that also take gender into account.
Originality/value
Overall, these results provided some insight into the relationship between specific guidance actions and goal-oriented career planning.
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This chapter examines the relationship between constitutional guarantees of sex equality, understood as prohibiting unequal treatment between men and women, and the constitutional…
Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between constitutional guarantees of sex equality, understood as prohibiting unequal treatment between men and women, and the constitutional protections of maternity. Textual guarantees of sex equality are nearly universal in constitutions around the world, and many constitutions in Europe, Latin America, and Asia also include provisions guaranteeing mothers the special protection of the state. In the United States, by contrast, the special treatment of mothers has long been contested as a threat to gender equality, and the efforts to add a sex equality amendment to the U.S. constitution have failed over the past century because of conflicts about the status of motherhood. This study traces the origins and jurisprudential development of maternity clauses in European constitutions to shed light on the possibility of synthesizing maternity protection with a constitutional commitment to gender equality.
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Peng Ning, Lixiao Geng and Liangding Jia
Drawing on bargaining power and the inequality aversion perspective, this study aims to probe employees’ influence on addressing income inequality between top executives and…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on bargaining power and the inequality aversion perspective, this study aims to probe employees’ influence on addressing income inequality between top executives and nonexecutive employees. Meanwhile, it examines the moderating role of employee-related factors and plan attributes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a staggered difference-in-differences design with a propensity scoring match approach and verification of the parallel trend assumption to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results support the hypothesis that employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) significantly reduce within-firm income inequality. The negative effect is amplified by both the presence of trade unions and the unemployment rate at the regional level, as well as the duration of the lock-in period and the scale of participants within the stock ownership plan.
Practical implications
This study has implications for income inequality research and ESOP design and provides theoretical support for policymakers and corporate governance.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on income inequality by examining the implementation of ESOPs from the employee perspective. Furthermore, it extends the current literature by investigating the strengthening effects of regional factors and ESOP attributes on the relationship between ESOPs and income inequality. The conclusions provide new empirical evidence to promote the effective implementation of ESOPs by combining internal and external factors.
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Nicola Cobelli and Emanuele Blasioli
The purpose of this study is to introduce new tools to develop a more precise and focused bibliometric analysis on the field of digitalization in healthcare management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to introduce new tools to develop a more precise and focused bibliometric analysis on the field of digitalization in healthcare management. Furthermore, this study aims to provide an overview of the existing resources in healthcare management and education and other developing interdisciplinary fields.
Design/methodology/approach
This work uses bibliometric analysis to conduct a comprehensive review to map the use of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) research models in healthcare academic studies. Bibliometric studies are considered an important tool to evaluate research studies and to gain a comprehensive view of the state of the art.
Findings
Although UTAUT dates to 2003, our bibliometric analysis reveals that only since 2016 has the model, together with UTAUT2 (2012), had relevant application in the literature. Nonetheless, studies have shown that UTAUT and UTAUT2 are particularly suitable for understanding the reasons that underlie the adoption and non-adoption choices of eHealth services. Further, this study highlights the lack of a multidisciplinary approach in the implementation of eHealth services. Equally significant is the fact that many studies have focused on the acceptance and the adoption of eHealth services by end users, whereas very few have focused on the level of acceptance of healthcare professionals.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a bibliometric analysis of technology acceptance and adoption by using advanced tools that were conceived specifically for this purpose. In addition, the examination was not limited to a certain era and aimed to give a worldwide overview of eHealth service acceptance and adoption.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine how the baby boomer generation and the veteran generation in the Netherlands perceive their own employability and how this is related to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the baby boomer generation and the veteran generation in the Netherlands perceive their own employability and how this is related to their self-reported job performance.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 973 workers in employment aged 45 and over filled out a survey measuring self-perceived employability and self-reported job performance. Data were analyzed by the use of t-tests and multiple regression.
Findings
Based on the human capital theory, it was found that self-perceived employability was positively related to self-reported job performance. However, in contradiction with our expectations, the veterans perceived their internal and external employability as more positive than the baby boomers.
Originality/value
This study distinguishes between two generations that are part of the group “older workers”. Moreover, we show that a positive relationship exists between one’s perception of one’s own employability and their self-reported performance.
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