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This study aims to develop an assessment scale for university service quality (university SQ) and examine University Service Quality assessment model (UNIQUAL) of higher education during the pandemic.

Two studies applied a mixed-method design to develop and validate the UNIQUAL scale. In-depth interviews and literature reviews were conducted to refine the initial dimensions and items of UNIQUAL in Study 1. Item analysis, EFA and CFA were then conducted to purify item refinement, scale refinement, purification and validation in Study 2. Finally, a confirmed UNIQUAL model was analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart-PLS 4.0.

The research confirms the four-factor structure of UNIQUAL, with a total of 16 items, to be a valid and reliable scale for the assessment of the service quality (SQ) of universities. Having adopted the bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) bootstrap approach to study 5,000 subsamples from 27 countries, the authors found “responsiveness” and “empathy” to be significantly associated and have positive relationships with students' satisfaction with university SQ. Furthermore, university SQ and satisfaction were mediated by “health and safety” concerns.

The newly developed UNIQUAL scale would be of value to educators and authorities of higher education to assess the SQ of their universities to enhance the effectiveness of student learning. The improvement in satisfaction with higher education's SQ ultimately helps in retaining both international and local students amidst concerns about traveling and studying during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has affected the private and public sectors worldwide. Millions of students have been affected by schools being shut down and substituted with distance-learning programs. Thus, the assessment of the quality of university services has become an important support mechanism for retaining the sustainability of higher education.

The UNIQUAL scale provides a conceptual model and validates an assessment tool. The research hypotheses confirm the relationship between university SQ and satisfaction from the perspective of international students.

Research on knowledge creation within eSports learning is scarce. This study extends the understanding of competition-oriented collaborative learning in eSports by examining the relationship between the dynamics of knowledge creation modes and the continuum of the motivational profile, along with the moderating effects of mutualistic co-presence therein.

Participants were recruited from the community of massively multiplayer online gamers (MMOGs). Through a quantitative survey, their motivations (i.e. self-extrinsic, self-intrinsic, peer-extrinsic and peer-intrinsic motivations), knowledge creation involvements (i.e. internalization, externalization, combination and socialization) and perception of mutualistic benefit of self and peers were captured for hypothesis testing.

Significant and positive direct relationships were observed between four motivations and four knowledge creation modes. The mutualistic co-presence positively moderated the positive relationship between the self-extrinsic, peer-extrinsic and peer-intrinsic motivations and socialization. When mutualistic self-benefit were outweighed, peer-extrinsic motivated gamers became less likely to perform internalization, whereas self-extrinsic and peer-extrinsic motivated gamers were less likely to perform combination.

This study is among the first to rationalize the relationship between motivational profile and the dynamics of knowledge creation in eSports learning. The conceptualization of the new construct – mutualistic co-presence – using the ecological concept of symbiosis is uncommon in prior literature. The findings also demonstrate that the four modes of knowledge creation in eSports learning are continuous and interwoven; they can be initiated at any point and do not necessarily occur in a specific sequence.

This study aims to examine the impact of information communication technology-enabled work during non-working hours (ICT-enabled WNWHs), as a source of stress, on employee behavioral outcomes –in-role job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) that benefit organizations and OCBs that benefit individuals, through emotional responses – work exhaustion, nonwork exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns demonstrated that employees frequently engage in ICT-enabled WNWHs, studying stress induced by ICT-enabled WNWHs is essential for understanding employee adaptation to the work-from-home trend that emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns.

A quantitative survey comprising 1,178 employees in China was conducted, and the data reliability and validity were confirmed. Partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.

The study results empirically proved that, although ICT-enabled WNWHs had significant effects on employee behavioral outcomes, the related emotional responses were the mediators of the stress transmission mechanism that directly affected employee behavioral outcomes. Notably, work exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem partially mediate the stress transmission mechanism, while nonwork exhaustion exerts a full mediating effect.

This study proposes the stress transmission mechanism of ICT-enabled WNWHs and delineates emotional responses regarding the work environment attributes of ICT-enabled WNWHs, an approach rarely seen in prior IS studies. To our best knowledge, this study is the first to identify and empirically demonstrate organization-based self-esteem as one among the emotional responses to ICT-enabled WNWHs. Furthermore, it expands understanding of the holistic impacts of ICT-enabled WNWHs, which is lacking in information systems (IS) literature.

Antagonistic relationship among the participants of construction projects has significantly improved, and further improving cooperation quality are committed. In this context, expanding new ways to improve cooperation quality has become a new topic in cooperation research. This study is dedicated to exploring the mechanism of cross-organizational private relationships on cooperative behaviors, which is rarely addressed in current research on construction projects, and provides reference for the rational use of cross-organizational private relationships.

Based on analysis of studies related to relational governance theory, institutional theory and project complexity, this study constructs the theoretical model. This study uses survey data from 395 construction professionals in China to test the theoretical model by using structural equation modeling (SEM) and explains the direct and indirect mechanism of cross-organizational private relationships on cooperation behavior.

(1) Cross-organizational private relationships have direct and indirect facilitating effect on cooperation behavior. (2) Relational norms as mediating variables contribute to the expansion of the positive effects of cross-organizational private relationships on cooperation behavior. (3) Institutional environment and project complexity have the moderating effect between cross-organizational private relationships and cooperation behavior.

This research investigates the impact mechanisms and boundary conditions of cross-organizational private relationships at the micro level on the cooperative behaviors in construction projects and conducts empirical research. It is a topic that has not been adequately researched in the field of project management. The research results expand the scope of research on relational governance and deepen the research on the antecedents of relational norms. It provides the base for the proposed contingency theory of relational governance.

Achieving better performance and a sustainable competitive advantage is essential for survival in the hotel industry. However, literature is scarce on which factors local hotel businesses in developing countries should rely on to compete successfully. With an emerging economy and significant potential for growth in the travel and hospitality sectors, Colombia is seeking to improve the performance of its hotel industry. To achieve this goal, exploring and analyzing the effects of the strategies and practices implemented is essential. Accordingly, this study investigates the dynamics of the interactions between strategies, process innovations, outsourcing practices and operational quality in the hotel industry in Colombia.

The methodology used in this research is quantitative, using structural equation modeling based on data collected from 150 valid questionnaires.

The strategies of the hotel sector have an impact on hotel performance. Although process innovation demonstrably affects quality and outsourcing, there is a low impact on the performance of the studied hotels. The hotel sector lacks strategy autonomy as strategies are not directed to the organization's overall improvement but only to satisfy stakeholders' requirements.

This paper offers valuable insights for organizations when implementing strategic innovation initiatives. It provides information relevant to Colombian government entities on the creation of processes, economic policy plans and business assistance programs for boosting the financial and commercial sustainability of Colombian service sector businesses. The studied organizations need to redefine the role of their strategies, process innovation, outsourcing projects and quality standards to achieve adequate performance, as all four dimensions together are required to foster competitiveness.

This paper offers valuable insights for organizations when implementing strategic innovation initiatives. Additionally, it provides information relevant to Colombian government entities on the creation of processes, economic policy plans and business assistance programs for boosting the financial and commercial sustainability of Colombian service sector businesses. The studied organizations need to redefine the role of their strategies, process innovation, outsourcing projects and quality standards to achieve adequate performance, as all four dimensions together are required to foster competitiveness.

Developing successful strategies is vital to generating performance. Quality and safety are critical strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. But literature is scarce on which factors local hotel businesses should rely on to compete successfully in developing countries. In particular, the concept of outsourcing in a highly distrusting developing country has not been addressed adequately. This research contributes to literature by evaluating quality as a competitive strategy in the hotel sector in a developing country to achieve a superior performance.

This paper aims to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on trade flows in Asia Pacific countries and explores the causality between COVID-19-related shocks and trade.

The authors used two novel techniques, namely, two-stage instrumental-variables (2SIV) approach and Juodis, Karavias and Sarafids (JKS) causality test, to examine trade dynamics in the Asia Pacific region during the pandemic.

Using the monthly trade data of 17 Asia Pacific countries between January 2020 and December 2021, the results were threefold. Firstly, the empirical analysis showed that during the COVID-19 crisis, the flow of exports tended to persist idiosyncratically in comparison to the flow of imports. In particular, a specific finding was that the persistence level in exports was about 20%–25% higher than that in imports. Secondly, the authors found that the past values of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 deaths contain information that helps to predict exports/imports over and above the information contained in the past values of exports/imports alone. Finally, the study established that the government response and stringency indexes have a Granger-causal relationship with exports and imports.

For the foreseeable future, these findings have significant policy ramifications. Firstly, if a COVID-19 crisis-like situation emerges in the future, it will be critical for countries to maintain their competitiveness throughout the crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, while also rebuilding trade relationships wherever possible. Secondly, because information about government responses and measures can also be used to predict future trade flows, prudent management of government responses and stringent measures will be necessary in a crisis like COVID-19 to achieve the optimum level of exports and imports. At the same time, the trading partners should give up the idea of trade protection and focus on finding a way to balance the conflicting needs of imports and exports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors, for the first time, used a 2SIV approach and JKS causality test to examine trade dynamics in the Asia Pacific region during the pandemic. In addition, the authors present the first comprehensive analysis of the evolving relationships between export and import flows and governmental policy responses under COVID-19. As a result, it contributes uniquely to both public and international economics.

To date, research on migration and entrepreneurship has rarely focused expat-preneurs. Based on recent developments in both fields, this paper aims to investigate the under-researched phenomenon of Chinese self-initiated expatriates who choose to temporarily live and do business abroad on their own volition.

To address this research gap, 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Chinese expat-preneurs living in Portugal were conducted, exposing their narratives about their multiple challenges.

The findings corroborate the theoretical need to look beyond narrow economic explanations for why individuals engage in transnational entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial itinerancy. A collective identity and ethnic community are important because they influence how opportunities are identified and pursued.

This is a qualitative and interpretative study in a limited geographical area, which does not intent to ensure generalizability. More research is needed to further understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial itinerancy in Europe and among other ethnic communities.

The findings provide insightful inputs to Portuguese policymakers and locals on how to support ethnic entrepreneurship. Chinese expat-preneurs also benefit from understanding how to strength their ethnic social ties in connection with local communities.

This study contributes to the entrepreneurship and international mobility literatures by providing new insights into the nature and dynamics of Chinese “expat-preneurs”, including their entrepreneurial itinerancy, necessary to properly understand entrepreneurs’ diversity and assist in extending transnational entrepreneurial theory.

The purpose of this research is to expand a better understanding of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives affect climate for innovation and opportunism within architectural design firms (ADFs).

The literature review and discussions with industry practitioners identified an initial list of variables. A questionnaire survey was developed, validated and delivered to employees working in ADFs. 226 valid responses were collected. Then, the structural equation modeling (SEM) method was employed to empirically investigate the relationships between CSR performance, climate for innovation and opportunism in a single integrative model.

The results empirically support that CSR performance has a positive effect on climate for innovation and a negative effect on opportunism. In addition, climate for innovation shows a negative effect on opportunism.

This research highlights that CSR performance is essential for ADFs to better achieve sustainable development. By doing CSR activities, climate for innovation in ADFs is expected to be improved, and a sense of opportunism is mitigated. The findings of this paper are explicitly delivered in the context of Vietnamese ADFs and could not be straightforwardly generalized or translated to the construction industry or other sectors in different research contexts.

The findings show that a climate for innovation is crucial in ADFs. Business managers are encouraged to employ CSR initiatives to foster an innovation climate and reduce a sense of opportunism within ADFs.

This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the relationships between CSR performance, climate for innovation, and opportunism within ADFs. While the findings highlight the critical role of CSR performance, the study argues that CSR should be carefully implemented because there are no “one-size-fits-all” CSR strategies for different business contexts.

This paper aims to (1) investigate the effect of other comprehensive income (OCI) on audit fees (AF) and audit report lag (ARL) and (2) test the moderating effect of board gender diversity (BGD) on such relationships.

This paper uses data extracted from the financial reports for a sample of Egyptian firms from 2013 to 2019, where the data are processed using the Panel Corrected Standards Errors (PCSE) and the Structure Equation Model (SEM).

The results reveal that (1) the OCI existence and OCI volume have a significant positive effect on AF and ARL, and (2) the presence of female directors on the board and the percentage of female representation affect the relationship between OCI and AF positively, but this effect on the relationship between OCI and ARL is insignificant.

This paper has some limitations, where the analysis uses a small sample of Egyptian listed firms, as well as, the measures that were used as proxies of the study variables, which do not necessarily express the most suitable ones.

The results of this paper would (1) provide signals to the audit market, the professional bodies in Egypt and stakeholders about the determinants of AF and ARL, (2) provide guidelines that support the capital market authority to consider gender diversity in boards of companies taking into considerations its impact on AF and ARL, and (3) help the accounting setters in emerging economies as Egypt in drafting more suitable standards and guidelines regarding OCI.

This paper adds to the literature on OCI, where it investigates the effect of OCI on ARL, which was not yet studied in prior studies. Also, this paper complements and extends the literature by providing empirical evidence from one of the emerging markets as Egypt about the effect of BGD on the relationships between OCI, AF and ARL, as these relationships have not been examined before.