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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 February 2024

Hans de Wit and Lizhou Wang

This article provides an overview and analysis of 50 years of European policies, actions, and challenges to align its higher education and research, as well as lessons learned…

Abstract

Purpose

This article provides an overview and analysis of 50 years of European policies, actions, and challenges to align its higher education and research, as well as lessons learned from this for similar initiatives elsewhere.

Design/methodology/approach

The study builds on a comprehensive overview and study of policy documents and scholarly literature to identify by decade the main policies and actions and the related challenges towards a European Higher Education and Research Area.

Findings

The findings make clear the key rationales, challenges, shifts and lessons to be learned from 50-year European policies for the alignment of higher education.

Originality/value

Its value lies in the historical overview and analysis of current initiatives, in particular the European Universities Initiative (EUI), to provide a historical and geographical context, which might give insight for similar initiatives elsewhere.

Details

Journal of International Cooperation in Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-029X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2024

Shampy Kamboj, Manita Matharu and Yupal Shukla

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of perceived risk (perceived susceptibility and perceived severity), self-efficacy and individual differences (personal…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of perceived risk (perceived susceptibility and perceived severity), self-efficacy and individual differences (personal innovativeness and mobile payment knowledge) on consumers’ intention to use contactless mobile payment services (MPS). Additionally, it also empirically tested the moderating effect of hygiene consciousness in the proposed conceptual model.

Design/methodology/approach

The present research developed a conceptual model based on the health belief model (HBM) and diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) to empirically assess whether and how perceived risk, self-efficacy and individual differences influence consumer intention to use contactless MPS. The data was collected using the survey method from 251 smartphone users and analyzed with structural equation modeling. The moderating role of hygiene consciousness was studied in the relationship that self-efficacy and personal innovativeness shares with consumers’ intention toward contactless MPS.

Findings

The results of this study disclose that among all precursors of consumers’ intention toward contactless MPS, only perceived severity, self-efficacy, personal innovativeness and mobile payment knowledge positively affect consumers’ intention to use contactless MPS. However, the effect of perceived susceptibility on consumers’ intention toward contactless MPS was found to be non-significant. The results further depict that hygiene consciousness acts as a moderator in driving consumers’ intention toward contactless mobile payment services.

Research limitations/implications

The HBM model and DOI, which incorporate perceived risk, self-efficacy, individual differences and hygiene consciousness, give light on the factors influencing consumer intention to use contactless MPS in a pandemic situation such as COVID-19. The study will provide useful insights to marketers on how to frame their strategies in the aftermath of pandemics, as the contactless mobile payment method may be perceived as a defensive behavior during and after pandemics.

Practical implications

The study will provide useful insights to marketers on how to frame their strategies in the aftermath of pandemics, as the contactless mobile payment method may be perceived as a defensive behavior during and after pandemics.

Originality/value

By uniting perceived risk, self-efficacy and individual differences with consumers’ intention toward contactless MPS in a conceptual model, along with examining the moderating role of hygiene consciousness, this work responds to the calls for upcoming research concerning mobile payment systems as means of future payment. Thus, it offers an understanding of particular consumer motivations that may guide consumers’ intention toward contactless MPS through the theoretical lens of HBM and DOI.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Laura Rienda, Lorena Ruiz-Fernández and Rosario Andreu

The harmonisation of university degrees at the European level leads us to believe that training needs are addressed in the same way in different countries. However, the inevitable…

Abstract

Purpose

The harmonisation of university degrees at the European level leads us to believe that training needs are addressed in the same way in different countries. However, the inevitable adaptation to the changing environment faced by companies requires a continuous adjustment between training and future needs, according to the sector. The aim of this paper is to compare two leading and culturally similar countries in the tourism sector in order to determine whether training is being provided homogeneously in tourism higher education and whether more specific training is desired to meet the needs of the sector in each country.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is part of the European Next Tourism Generation (NTG) Project, the first European partnership to foster a collaborative and productive relationship between the education system and the tourism industry. A mixed research study was conducted with the purpose of development, i.e. with the intention that the results of one method (qualitative) are used to assist the development of the other method (quantitative) and an exploratory sequential design. Both qualitative (29 interviews) and quantitative (509 tourism organisations) methods are used.

Findings

For a sector that has undergone significant changes in recent years, the results show the differences between countries around the current level of soft skills of employees, the level they will need to develop in the future and the gaps that those responsible for training future employees in the sector need to focus on for the 2030 horizon.

Practical implications

Several recommendations have emerged from this paper: to complement higher education, to achieve a better link between the business world and future workers; to provide much more incentives for international student mobility, which will allow students to develop intercultural soft skills before they enter the world of work, and to propose the creation of a social network to share, communicate and learn about resources specific to the tourism industry.

Originality/value

Since the Bologna Plan, higher education institutions have been tasked with preparing students for the world of work and developing the employability of graduates. The link between the professional world (companies) and the educational world (training centres) is a crucial factor in determining students' future skills and needs. When educational programmes respond to the needs of industry, the university can gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, some authors suggest the need for coordination and regular communication between business and training centres, thus improving the competitiveness of companies and reducing the gap that currently exists. In this paper, comparing two culturally similar countries with a recognised trajectory in the tourism sector, we will try to observe this gap and propose interesting options for the future of the sector.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Annette Markham and Riccardo Pronzato

This paper aims to explore how critical digital and data literacies are facilitated by testing different methods in the classroom, with the ambition to find a pedagogical…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how critical digital and data literacies are facilitated by testing different methods in the classroom, with the ambition to find a pedagogical framework for prompting sustained critical literacies.

Design/methodology/approach

This contribution draws on a 10-year set of critical pedagogy experiments conducted in Denmark, USA and Italy, and engaging more than 1,500 young adults. Multi-method pedagogical design trains students to conduct self-oriented guided autoethnography, situational analysis, allegorical mapping, and critical infrastructure analysis.

Findings

The techniques of guided autoethnography for facilitating sustained data literacy rely on inviting multiple iterations of self-analysis through sequential prompts, whereby students move through stages of observation, critical thinking, critical theory-informed critique around the lived experience of hegemonic data and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructures.

Research limitations/implications

Critical digital/data literacy researchers should continue to test models for building sustained critique that not only facilitate changes in behavior over time but also facilitate citizen social science, whereby participants use these autoethnographic techniques with friends and families to build locally relevant critique of the hegemonic power of data/AI infrastructures.

Originality/value

The proposed literacy model adopts a critical theory stance and shows the value of using multiple modes of intervention at micro and macro levels to prompt self-analysis and meta-level reflexivity for learners. This framework places critical theory at the center of the pedagogy to spark more radical stances, which is contended to be an essential step in moving students from attitudinal change to behavioral change.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 June 2022

Murad Harasheh, Alessandro Capocchi and Andrea Amaduzzi

There is still an ongoing debate on the value relevance of capital structure and its determinants. Recently the issue has been explored in family firms after being explored in…

1719

Abstract

Purpose

There is still an ongoing debate on the value relevance of capital structure and its determinants. Recently the issue has been explored in family firms after being explored in mature firms. This paper investigates the role of institutional investors and the firm's innovation activity in influencing the firm's decision and ability to acquire debt capital.

Design/methodology/approach

A large sample of 700 privately-held family firms in Italy from 2010 to 2019. Two analysis techniques are used: panel analysis and path analysis. The value of debt and the debt ratio are used as leverage measures. The value of patent (as a proxy for innovation) and institutional investor are the explanatory variables.

Findings

The results show that institutional investors have no relationship with financial leverage measures except when controlling for an interaction variable (Institutional investors × Lombardy region). The patent value is positively correlated with debt; however, the ratio patent-to-asset is negatively related to financial leverage indicating higher risk exposure. The nonlinearity test demonstrates a turning point when the relationship between patent value and debt inverts.

Practical implications

Firms should monitor their innovation activity since excessive innovation increases risk exposure and affects financing opportunities and value. The involvement of institutional investors does not always enhance value.

Originality/value

Existing literature focuses separately on family firm innovations and financial leverage as outcome variables, emphasizing the role of institutional investors in both fields by adopting agency theory and socioemotional wealth framework. In this study, the authors go further by merging both relationships, investigating the dynamics of the institutional-family firm innovation relationship in influencing the firm's capital structure. The authors contribute to the ongoing debate by providing original findings on capital structure, governance and innovation, supported by rigorous methods to enhance family firms' decision-making.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Mahsa Abedini, Bert Schreurs, I.M. Jawahar and Melvyn R.W. Hamstra

This research sought to examine the potential association between workers’ financial worry and counterproductive work behavior. Based on the basic psychological need theory, we…

Abstract

Purpose

This research sought to examine the potential association between workers’ financial worry and counterproductive work behavior. Based on the basic psychological need theory, we propose that psychological need satisfaction explains this relationship and we position this volitional pathway as an alternative to a cognitive capacity pathway based on the cognitive load theory.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a two-week interval-lagged survey study with three measurement points among 180 US workers. The mediation models were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results support the conclusion that, while cognitive capacity could have an impact on counterproductive work behavior, its mediating effect is less strong than that of need satisfaction.

Practical implications

Based on the results, we recommend that organizations design their compensation and benefits system to shield employees from financial worries. At the same time, we advise offering the employees who do experience financial worries assistance in managing their budgets and offering other forms of financial coaching.

Originality/value

This study is innovative because we show that the negative effects of financial worry extend much further than initially thought and affect not only employees' cognition but also their motivation.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Andrea Caccialanza

The deeper understanding of the disclosure of external and internal dynamics of family firms necessarily places the issue of sustainability as one of the most pressing needs from…

Abstract

Purpose

The deeper understanding of the disclosure of external and internal dynamics of family firms necessarily places the issue of sustainability as one of the most pressing needs from both a research and managerial perspective. Therefore, this perspective article contributes to the debate of sustainability performance disclosure in family firms, proposing a research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has organized the discussion around those elements that most significantly impact the propensity to disclose, with a specific focus on the interconnections and interrelations within them. The proposed research agenda is developed around three key elements: “how” firms disclose, “the reason why” they do it and “what” disclose of their performance(s).

Findings

To better understand “how” family firms should disclose their performance, it is suggested to engage in proactive stakeholder engagement to preserve long-term socioemotional wealth. “The reason why” for disclosure is still associated with the legitimization of family firms from an economic, social and environmental point of view. Finally, the “what” depends on several factors, such as the regulatory framework and the market involved.

Practical implications

This paper contains suggestions for family firm managers, consultants and policymakers that are approaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) and non-financial reporting or sustainability disclosure overall, providing an overview of relevant factors influencing this transition process.

Originality/value

This paper suggests a logical framework to combine these three elements of the debate as strictly interrelated to foster the sustainability performance disclosure of family firms.

Details

Journal of Family Business Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-6238

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Sina Ahmadi Kaliji, Seyed Mojtaba Mojaverian, Hamid Amirnejad and Maurizio Canavari

The authors propose a dairy bundle, integrating strategies to jointly maximise producer revenue and consumer utility according to the latter's preferences.

Abstract

Purpose

The authors propose a dairy bundle, integrating strategies to jointly maximise producer revenue and consumer utility according to the latter's preferences.

Design/methodology/approach

An algorithm based on a nested logit model identifies the bundle maximising producer revenue based on factors affecting consumer purchase behaviour. The data are drawn from a mall-intercept survey administered in Iran, with consumers stating a hypothetical choice among a comprehensive set of dairy products.

Findings

Demographic characteristics and marketing mix elements significantly affect consumers' preferences. An algorithm based on the estimated dissimilarity parameter determines the best bundle of dairy products, simultaneously obtaining the highest utility and the highest expected revenue.

Originality/value

Consumer preference and maximum producer or retail seller income are considered simultaneously. The bundling promotion strategy is widely used for food offerings and fresh foods and can be extended to other products.

研究目的

我們擬根據消費者偏好,提出一個整合了多個策略的捆綁包,以使生產製作者得到最高的收入和最佳的消費者效用。

研究設計/方法/理念

研究人員根據巢式Logit 模型的演算法確認了一個捆綁包,以使生產製作者能得到最高的收入,而這均建基於會影響消費者購買行為的各個因素。有關的數據取自於伊朗的商場內進行的攔截調查,而回應的消費者須假想他們從一整套乳製品中選擇他們會購買的產品。

研究結果

研究結果顯示,人口特徵和市場營銷組合元素均會顯著地影響消費者的偏好,一個基於估算的相異性參數而建立的演算法可確認最佳的乳製品捆綁包,這演算法同時也可取得最佳的裨益和最高的預期收入。

研究的原創性/價值

於本研究中,研究人員同時考慮消費者的偏好和生產製作者或零售賣家的最高收入。捆綁式的促銷策略在食物供品和新鮮食品方面被廣泛使用,這策略可擴展至其他產品。

關鍵詞

乳製品捆綁包、消費者偏好、最佳化演算法、巢式Logit 模型.

Details

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-8451

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Veronica Leoni, Pierpaolo Pattitoni and Laura Vici

We challenge the conventional approach to distinguish between professional and non-professional Airbnb hosts by solely using the number of managed listings.

Abstract

Purpose

We challenge the conventional approach to distinguish between professional and non-professional Airbnb hosts by solely using the number of managed listings.

Design/methodology/approach

We leverage the recently released platform policy that categorizes hosts' professionalism by their self-declared status. Our multinomial modeling approach predicts true host status, factoring in the number of managed listings and controlling for listing and host traits. We employ data from five major European cities collected through scraping the Airbnb webpage.

Findings

Our research reveals that relying solely on the number of listings managed falls short of accurately predicting the host type, leading to difficulties in evaluating the platform's impact on the local housing market and reducing the effectiveness of policy intervention. Moreover, we advocate using more fine-grained measures to differentiate further between semi-professional and professional hosts who exhibit heterogeneous economic behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

Reliable professionalism metrics are essential to curb unethical practices, promote market transparency and ensure a level playing field for all market participants.

Originality/value

This work pioneers the revelation of the inadequacy of a commonly used measure for predicting host professionalism accurately.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Justyna Fijałkowska, Dominika Hadro, Enrico Supino and Karol M. Klimczak

This study aims to explore the intelligibility of communication with stakeholders as a result of accrual accounting adoption. It focuses on changes in the use of visual forms and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the intelligibility of communication with stakeholders as a result of accrual accounting adoption. It focuses on changes in the use of visual forms and the readability of text that occurred immediately after the adoption of accrual accounting in performance reports of Italian public universities.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collect the stakeholder section of performance reports published before and after accrual accounting adoption. Then, the authors use manual and computer-assisted textual analysis. Finally, the authors explore the data using principal component analysis and qualitative comparative analysis.

Findings

This study demonstrates that switching from cash to accrual accounting provokes immediate changes in communication patterns. It confirms the significant reduction of readability and increase in visual forms after accruals accounting adoption. The results indicate that smaller universities especially put effort into increasing intelligibility while implementing a more complex accounting system. This study also finds a relation between the change in readability and the change in visual forms that are complementary, with the exception of several very large universities.

Practical implications

The findings underline the possibility of neutralising the adverse effects of accounting reform associated with its complexity and difficulties in understanding by the use of visual forms and attention to the document’s readability.

Originality/value

This paper adds a new dimension to the study of public sector accounting from the external stakeholder perspective. It provides further insight into the link between accrual accounting adoption and readability, together with the use of visual forms by universities.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

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