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1 – 10 of 11Matthew Osivue Ikuabe, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala, Donald Chiyangwa and Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
Joint ventures (JVs) serve as a viable tool in mitigating some of the challenges posed to the effective delivery of construction projects. However, JVs are highly susceptible to…
Abstract
Purpose
Joint ventures (JVs) serve as a viable tool in mitigating some of the challenges posed to the effective delivery of construction projects. However, JVs are highly susceptible to failure in most developing countries. Therefore, this study seeks to unravel the critical factors influencing the failure of JVs in the South African construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was adopted for the study using a well-structured questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Respondents for the study were built environment professionals in Gauteng province in South Africa. Data elicited from respondents were analyzed using a four-pronged process which included descriptive statistics, one sample t-test, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
Resulting from the analysis conducted, four critical components emerged as the major factors influencing the failure of JVs in the South African construction industry, which are inefficient financial framework, divergent organizational culture, poor project governance and inadequacies from project stakeholders.
Practical implications
The outcome of this study presents a roadmap for stakeholders in the construction industry with the requisite knowledge of the critical factors leading to the failure of JVs, consequently providing a clear path for the successful delivery of JV mandates.
Originality/value
Evidence from literature suggests that several studies have been conducted on the various aspects of JVs in the South African construction industry; however, none has focused on the leading factors attributed to the failure of JVs. Also, the findings of this study cultivate a good theoretical platform for future studies on JVs.
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Kumaraguru Mahadevan, Arun Elias and Premaratne Samaranayake
The main purpose of this research is to investigate the supply chain performance through collaborative effectiveness, from the organisations of Asia–Pacific region perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this research is to investigate the supply chain performance through collaborative effectiveness, from the organisations of Asia–Pacific region perspective, compared with that of global organisations based on collaborative supply chain practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey research methodology was adopted, involving the collection of survey data from 223 participants across 10 different industries and 6 geographic regions. Data included 103 organisations in the Asia–Pacific region including Australia, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Findings
From a collaborative effectiveness perspective, the supply chain performance of Asia–Pacific organisations is different when compared with that of global organisations. It was also found that global organisations are driven by sales performance, while Asia–Pacific organisations are focussing mainly on the cost in terms of the number of employees, and therefore productivity. The metal industry stands out to be the best performing industry from a collaborative effectiveness perspective in the Asia–Pacific region and globally.
Practical implications
The research findings can be used as a guide by industry practitioners to develop benchmarks for collaborative supply chain practices by industry and region of operations. This research has been limited to a few industries such as manufacturing, logistics, service and retail industries.
Originality/value
This research generates new knowledge on the relationship between the collaborative effectiveness and supply chain performance, from the perspectives of both Asia–Pacific and global organisations, based on a collaborative effectiveness framework. The study proposes an innovative approach of assessing supply chain performance through collaborative effectiveness from the perspectives of geographical boundaries and industry types.
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Ahmad Nadzri Mohamad, Allan Sylvester and Jennifer Campbell-Meier
This study aimed to develop a taxonomy of research areas in open government data (OGD) through a bibliometric mapping tool and a qualitative analysis software.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to develop a taxonomy of research areas in open government data (OGD) through a bibliometric mapping tool and a qualitative analysis software.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors extracted metadata of 442 documents from a bibliographic database. The authors used a bibliometric mapping tool for familiarization with the literature. After that, the authors used qualitative analysis software to develop taxonomy.
Findings
This paper developed taxonomy of OGD with three research areas: implementation and management, architecture, users and utilization. These research areas are further analyzed into seven topics and twenty-eight subtopics. The present study extends Charalabidis et al. (2016) taxonomy by adding two research topics, namely the adoption factors and barriers of OGD implementations and OGD ecosystems. Also, the authors include artificial intelligence in the taxonomy as an emerging research interest in the literature. The authors suggest four directions for future research: indigenous knowledge in open data, open data at local governments, development of OGD-specific theories and user studies in certain research themes.
Practical implications
Early career researchers and doctoral students can use the taxonomy to familiarize themselves with the literature. Also, established researchers can use the proposed taxonomy to inform future research. Taxonomy-building procedures in this study are applicable to other fields.
Originality/value
This study developed a novel taxonomy of research areas in OGD. Taxonomy building is significant because there is insufficient taxonomy of research areas in this discipline. Also, conceptual knowledge through taxonomy creation is a basis for theorizing and theory-building for future studies.
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Emerging public discourses on Islam and Islamophobia in Western countries have led to religious discrimination among this group. This exploratory study aims to understand how…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging public discourses on Islam and Islamophobia in Western countries have led to religious discrimination among this group. This exploratory study aims to understand how marketers promote anti-discrimination efforts against Muslims on the notion of future collective unity.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study uses Social Identity theory to explain the behaviour and attitude of vulnerable Muslims. The dimension of racialisation, the Whiteness theory, the oppression model and the ethnocentrism theory were synthesised to explain the practice of racism and oppression. The theory of customer diversity, equity and inclusion was synthesised to understand the importance of inclusive marketing. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 15 senior marketing executives.
Findings
This study observed how the minority Muslims had influenced the marketers' behaviours in combating anti-religious discrimination through various tactics such as extending the corporates' products and services offerings, being inclusive and avoiding stereotyping in their marketing communication styles and shifting the company's processes and systems to meeting this group's cultural needs.
Research limitations/implications
While this study sample's demographics were motivated by senior marketing executives' profiles, most of the participants were highly educated, had similar cultural backgrounds and were mainly from the West.
Originality/value
This study attempts to shed light on the understanding of Muslims’ discrimination or Islamophobia in non-Muslim majority countries. It is hoped that this study acts as a catalyst for collective unity and would galvanise communities, including marketers to tackle discrimination through a better understanding of a targeted group like Muslims in the marketplace. In this current time of racial and religious tension, business leaders and marketers can act as mediators of social change to normalise more positive relations between minority and mainstream consumers.
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Rodney James Scott and Eleanor R.K. Merton
A central question of public administration is how political principals secure the cooperation of administrators within organisational frames and contexts; increasingly, rational…
Abstract
Purpose
A central question of public administration is how political principals secure the cooperation of administrators within organisational frames and contexts; increasingly, rational influences are being considered alongside bounded rationality and non-rational influences. This paper aims to explore the intent of New Zealand’s Public Service Act 2020 in managing administrative behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is primarily ethnographic, combining emic and etic perspectives. A mixed-methods approach comprises participant observer field notes and meeting documentation, substantiated by official documents; documents were analysed thematically and triangulated with other data sources.
Findings
The Public Service Act introduces new bounds on administrative behaviour. The stated rationale for these changes reveals an attempt to set limits on the principal–agent relationship between politicians and administrators and causes predictable deviations from rational behaviour by cultivating public service motivation and a unified public service identity.
Research limitations/implications
As the legislation in question was only passed in 2020, it is too early to definitively assess the ultimate impact of legislation on administrative behaviour. This case study demonstrates that behavioural approaches to public administration are being applied intentionally by governments. The choice architecture created in the case study blends rational, bounded, and non-rational influences. Together, this produces a bricolage of semi-relevant theories from other disciplines, especially psychology, to explain administrative behaviour. Further refinement is needed to develop a cohesive and comprehensive theory of administrative behaviour that can account for contemporary practice.
Practical implications
Administrators act as agents of political principals, within ethical and rules-based limitations and influenced by public service motivation and social identity. Shifting from implicit to explicit choice architecture does not negate possible tensions between bounds and can signal them more explicitly. Shared symbols are sometimes intended to influence identity and therefore adherence to behavioural norms.
Originality/value
This paper explores the manipulation of choice architecture as a viable strategy for altering behaviour for the better and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first known instance of choice architecture being “legislated in” rather than merely “showing through”. This study illustrates the blending of rational, boundedly rational and non-rational factors into a choice architecture for public administrators that help mediate the biases and challenges of principal–agent relationships (which form a cascade in New Zealand’s public administration system).
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This exploratory study seeks to understand whether an arts event designed with/by/for disabled people (the InterACT Disability Arts Festival in New Zealand) has the potential to…
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study seeks to understand whether an arts event designed with/by/for disabled people (the InterACT Disability Arts Festival in New Zealand) has the potential to create revolutionary futures, defined as those which help determine new paths, make the future less fearsome and allow more positive outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was taken in this study. Interviews were carried out with ten disabled event attendees, two support workers, one family member, four event volunteers, two activity providers and the main event organiser of the 2019 festival. Active participant observation was also used to collect data. Deductive thematic analysis was used to determine themes and subthemes in the material.
Findings
The findings suggest the case study arts event does help to create revolutionary futures for disabled attendees through disrupting the narratives of disability, making sense of lives lived and changing lives yet to be lived.
Research limitations/implications
Limited windows of opportunity were available to interact with attendees, and just 17 in-the-moment interviews were conducted. However, the findings still have value as data saturation was reached. A “revolutionary futures” conceptual framework is presented to understand the nexus between disability worlds and events and thus amplify the benefits for attendees.
Originality/value
Research carried out to date has provided much-needed understanding about the challenges facing disabled people at events, but this study turns this deficit approach around to focus on the opportunities provided by event participation.
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