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The research paper investigates auditors' dysfunctional behaviors in relation to performance appraisals. It explores the dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB) differences among experienced/inexperienced and male/female auditors when expecting performance appraisals, how their perception of DAB changes and how their reactive-outcomes vary.

The survey comprises statements pulled from performance appraisal templates used by the Big Four audit firms in the UK. The sample has been tested during two different periods to highlight variations in the perception of DAB.

Experienced auditors become more tolerant of DAB compared to their perception when they were inexperienced. Inexperienced male auditors are generally more accepting of DAB compared to their inexperienced female counterparts. Experienced female respondents continue to be less accepting of DAB.

The study associates performance appraisal procedures with DAB. The analysis examines the perception of dysfunctional behavior according to the level of experience auditors (males and females) accumulate over time.

The purpose of this paper is to identify differences in auditors’ dysfunctional behaviour when expecting performance appraisal. Its main aim is to examine variances across countries; UK vs Kuwait. Also, it identifies differences between experienced and inexperienced auditors.

The paper focuses on dysfunctional audit behaviour (DAB) where premature sign-off and under-reporting of chargeable time are chosen as the two main signalling proxies. A survey made up of statements included in performance appraisal templates is distributed among auditors working for the Big Four firms in both, the UK and Kuwait.

The paper shows how performance evaluation of external auditors affects their behaviour in the workplace. From a cultural standpoint, assessing the performance of auditors whilst working in a competitive market in a developed country is regarded as a potential driver for DAB variations. Evaluating auditors’ performance in a developing country is seen as a stabiliser of DAB. This research paper demonstrates that experienced auditors have a greater tendency to behave dysfunctionally as compared to inexperienced auditors.

Prior studies have been conducted to assess auditors’ performance through using internal and external attributes (Kaplan, 1985), offshoring basic steps of audit work (Downey, 2018), and the perception of audit clients about auditors’ performance (Reheul et al., 2013). Such studies were conducted mostly on developed countries on a standalone basis. In this study, the focus has been shifted from focusing on one country to comparing two different countries. The paper examines DAB between experienced and inexperienced auditors in the UK and in Kuwait when expecting performance evaluation.

This study aims to investigate how consumers respond to global brands adapting to local elements. Specifically, this study identified three factors (i.e., cultural compatibility, cultural elements authenticity and cultural pride) affecting the purchase intentions (PIs) toward global brands using Chinese elements among Chinese consumers in China and Chinese immigrants in North America. Another aim is to examine the moderating role of acculturation in the relationship between cultural pride and PIs among Chinese immigrants.

Three studies were conducted to test the hypotheses in China and North America. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the factor structure. Hierarchical regression was used to test the main effects and moderated regression analysis was used to test the moderation effect.

Results show that cultural compatibility, cultural elements authenticity (CEA) and cultural pride positively affect the PIs toward global brands with Chinese elements for both Chinese consumers and Chinese immigrants. Further, among Chinese immigrants, acculturation moderates the relationship between cultural pride and PIs.

This study explored the factors influencing the PIs toward global brands using Chinese elements, filling a research gap. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine how perceived CEA affects consumers’ PIs toward global brands with Chinese elements. Further, the findings have implications for global brands that want to target Chinese consumers and Chinese immigrants in overseas markets.

OPAC users are first described according to their habits and needs. The usual distinction between ‘naive’ and ‘sophisticated’ users is criticised. The existing OPAC designs are summarised in terms of their information retrieval facilities as well as their dialogue modes. The concept of ease of use is then examined in more detail and several levels are introduced: usability, ease of interaction, communicational ease and ease of searching. Some connections are made between ease of use and existing OPACs. Areas for future research work are suggested.

Tourism and hospitality scholars have examined tourists' food experiences in the tourism context. However, little research has been focused on the experience of tasting slow food/wine and the market that consumes slow food/wine. This study aims to (1) understand the factors contributing to tourists' slow food experiences and (2) identify the market segmentation of tourists who experiences slow food and wine at a winery. Four hundred fifty-three online survey questionnaires were collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. The critical research variable is slow food experience, which contains 16 items explained by four dimensions: (1) food, (2) place, (3) behavior, and (4) knowledge. Subsequently, a cluster analysis based on slow food experience measurement was adopted to discover the tourist market. The study identifies three markets: (1) hardcore slow food gastronomes, (2) common slow foodies, and (3) casual visitors. In the conclusion section, this study offers theoretical contributions to the slow food literature and managerial implications for tourism marketers to establish new marketing strategies.

The present work attempts to investigate how restaurant staff perceive problematic customer behaviours (PCBs), the causes for PCBs and the core reasons that trigger such behaviour in restaurants.

The root causes were determined by systematic grading and then aggregated in a fishbone diagram to illustrate the real antecedents. First, the data obtained from in-depth interviews based on the grounded theory approach, conducted with 29 frontline employees in restaurants, were categorised using open, axial and selective coding. Then the 26 causes identified were graded and arranged into six levels, forming a chained hierarchy for each behaviour.

Ego-derived faults are among the key factors stemming from the personality of the customer, and the use of money as power is evident in such behaviours. In terms of issues related to social systems, the main factors were the structure of the sector, the “customer is always right” philosophy, other factors resulting from the local culture and the occupational image.

First, more frequent and effective addressing of the sector structure can help employees feel more comfortable. Second, the study uncovers emotional and psychological aspects as core factors causing PCBs, paving the way for future studies.

To prevent PCBs, it may be necessary to provide relevant training for employees, empower leadership for middle-level managers and set up a customer crediting system as well as a customer blacklist based on smart technologies.

This research is the first attempt to reveal the root causes of the factors behind PCBs by forming graded-reason chains and representing integrated PCBs in a fishbone diagram. Using this instrument, the paper investigates the insights of employees to address a topic that few studies have dealt with thus far.

This paper aims to examine a two-way interaction between social influencers’ number of followers (micro vs meso) and argument quality (weak vs strong) on consumers’ self-reported and brain responses to advertising posts on Instagram. Further, drawing upon source credibility theory and contemporary theories of persuasion, the Instagram users’ perceptions of the influencer’s credibility are predicted to mediate the hypothesized effects.

Through an online (N = 192) and a lab study (N = 112), the authors examined Instagram users’ responses to an advertising post from Instagram influencers in terms of perceived source credibility and electronic word-of-mouth intention, using validated multi-item scales from existing literatures and electroencephalogram (EEG) measures. The hypotheses were tested with a 2 (type of influencer: micro vs meso) × 2 (argument quality: weak vs strong) between-subject design using mediated moderated linear regression analysis.

The results highlight that meso-influencers are perceived as a credible source of information only when their product-related post provides strong argument quality. Moreover, this process involves an increase in users’ cognitive work (measured with EEG), with possible implications on marketing communication strategies and online message design.

The limitations of the work can serve as ideas for future research. First, this study did not account for the influencer’s relevance and resonance. Second, the authors studied consumer responses to online communication produced by Instagram influencers within a single product category. Another important product type distinction that requires further attention is between hedonic and utilitarian products. Finally, the two studies only used positive review content. Further research should study how consumers evaluate the source credibility of a micro- vs meso-influencer when they are exposed to negative reviews containing weak vs strong arguments.

The results suggest that marketers should carefully consider Instagram influencers based on the trade-offs between credibility and reach. Specifically, micro-influencers are perceived as more credible sources of information than meso-influencers, which means that they have greater potential to affect Instagram users’ behavior. Moreover, the results suggest that meso-influencers should leverage argument quality to enhance their credibility and draw greater positive outcomes for the products and brands they endorse.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how the interaction between the type of social media influencer and the argument quality affects consumers’ self-reported and brain responses to advertising posts on Instagram. Moreover, using neuroscience, this study aims to shed light on the neurophysiological processes that drive consumer responses to product-related communication posted by different influencer types.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on factors leading to unethical acts committed by auditors from a cultural and gender perspectives. It investigates differences in junior auditors’ attitudes towards audit behavior when a performance evaluation (PE) is anticipated. The objective of this study is to aid academicians and audit executives in developing new models of PE and internship programs that should mitigate dysfunctional behavior.

A survey adapted from Big Four companies’ performance appraisal templates was administered to junior accountants who have completed their internship programs and their external audit course at accredited universities in Lebanon and the USA. Several statistical tests were conducted to analyze the relationship between the different variables.

This paper shows how PE affects junior auditors’ attitudes to dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB). From a cultural standpoint, American auditors express more negative views towards DAB than their Lebanese counterparts. This paper also demonstrates that female auditors are less inclined towards DAB than male auditors.

Previous studies on the topic have been mostly conducted in developed countries with a scarcity of studies examining multiple countries. This study focuses on two different cultural contexts, a developed country, the USA and an emerging country, poorly represented in the literature, Lebanon. This paper also observes variances between male and female auditors in DAB when expecting a PE. The originality of this paper stems from its concurrent examination of the impact of gender and culture on DAB by using a sample of less-experienced auditors at the end of their educational path.

Policy makers have called for more entrepreneurship throughout societies as a response to the digital transformation. This paper argues that the rapidly changing conditions of the digital age indeed mark a change in the bases of entrepreneurship. Specifically, as adaptivity becomes key, a learning capacity and general ability to adapt becomes a critical factor in entrepreneurial activity. The paper identifies self-directed learning (SDL) as a fundamental competence in this regard and examines its role for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial competence.

The paper develops a theoretical framework for the role of SDL in entrepreneurship through a process of systematic review of previous studies that have linked SDL to entrepreneurship.

The formulated theoretical framework shows how SDL competence combines with experiential learning in supporting the kind of adaptivity needed for entrepreneurial competence, especially under more rapidly changing conditions. SDL competence also gains wider importance through enabling individuals to meet the demands of organizational changes in our highly volatile world.

SDL competence prepares individuals for entrepreneurship and resilience in face of rapid changes as well as for being more entrepreneurial in the conduct of their lives more generally. Fostering SDL competence can thus be regarded as an important objective of entrepreneurship education.

The described self-directed experiential learning cycle offers a novel perspective that clarifies how both self-directed and experiential learning competences are integral for understanding the basis of adaptiveness in entrepreneurial activity.