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The purpose of the paper is to suggest effective choices for key decisions when pursuing a programmatic research strategy in management, spirituality and religion (MSR). An example is provided of how the suggestions can be used.

Suggestions for research were gleaned from current sources in research methodology. The example provided was a study of 398 employees who were surveyed on spirituality, job satisfaction and intent to leave their job. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test three research hypotheses.

Using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and SEM can be a way to pursue research using variables related to spirituality and religion.

A programmatic research strategy employing SEM can effectively model how spirituality/religious variables directly and indirectly affect outcomes significant to the organization.

Considering the relevance of operational excellence as a business strategy, organizations are striving to improve themselves by adopting best practices and universally accepted principles through the process of continuous improvement, and these principles should be embedded in the culture of an organization. Organizations pursue to align themselves by continuously improving their processes by adopting scientifically proven techniques and cultural transformation throughout the organization. However, there is a lack of scientific instruments for the assessment of operational excellence. The objective of this study is to develop a scale for the assessment of practices of operational excellence principles in the organizations. Further reliability and validity of the developed scale are measured by testing the relationship between Human Resource Practices (HRP) and Operational Excellence (OE).

This study comprises quantitative design through exploratory and confirmatory studies and also includes qualitative analysis to develop a scale for the assessment of Operational Excellence (OE). Interviews from industry experts have been conducted to identify the major components for which organizations are striving for OE. Previous literature and excellence models, especially principles of the Shingo Operational Excellence Model (SOEM), have been reviewed and considered to finalize the scale items. Data were collected in two stages from both Telecommunication subsectors (Cellular Mobile Operators and Fixed Local Loop Operators) of Pakistan through the cross-sectional survey. In the first stage, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the sample of 611 respondents from both Cellular Mobile and Fixed Local Loop operators of Pakistan. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the sample of 423 respondents from the Fixed local loop operators. EFA was conducted by using SPSS version 23 to finalize the OE scale, and for confirmatory factor analysis, PLS-SEM using Smart PLS was used to confirm the reliability and validity of the OE Scale.

The results of EFA reveal that OE is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions and 23 items. The dimensions of the developed OE Scale explored in this study are cultural enablers (CE), continuous process improvement (CPI) and enterprise alignment (EA). The confirmatory factor analysis of OE confirmed the scale dimensionality, reliability and validity along with the hypothesis testing to measure the impact of antecedent variable HRP on OE.

Organizations pursue to improve and align their operational processes but usually unable to confirm the implementation of their desired objectives. Based on the developed OE scale, managers may assess the implementation of OE principles in their organizations. This research has been conducted in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan only, and the developed instrument needs to be further tested in other organizations.

The instrument developed in this study will help both researchers and practitioners to assess the principles of operational excellence in their organizations and enable them to design the strategies for improving organizational performance.

The results of this study will create awareness about the principles of operational excellence. The developed OE instrument will assist in identifying the gaps in organizational norms and values from the perspective of paying respect to every individual inside and outside the organization. OE instrument will be further helpful in the identification and assurance of health, safety, protection of the environment and community issues.

This study provides a reliable and validated scale for the scientific area of operation management and helps managers with the assessment of operational excellence in their organizations. This newly developed scale is also valid to test and use in different studies and industries by researchers and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model (structural equation modeling (SEM)) from the 16 identified just in time (JIT) elements useful for implementation of JIT in maintenance.

Data were collected using questionnaires posted to 421 manufacturing industries and automotive service industries in India from which 133 usable responses were obtained. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is carried out to identify the factor structure after that confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is carried out to verify the factor structure of a set of identified JIT elements. CFA is conceded by an SEM statistical technique. In this paper, EFA is applied to extract the factors in JIT implementation by the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 24) software and confirming these factors by CFA through analysis of moment structures (AMOS 18) software.

Out of 18 identified JIT elements through literature and expert opinion only 16 JIT elements are selected for the study, two JIT elements removed due to the low value of correlation item-total correlation (CITC). Three factors extracted through EFA, which affects the benefits of JIT implementation in maintenance in quality improvement, production improvement and process control. SEM using AMOS 18.0 was used to perform the first-order three-factor structure (quality improvement, production improvement and process control) of the JIT implementation in maintenance.

The results will be useful for maintenance managers and maintenance professionals to understand the process of implementation of JIT in maintenance and to gain benefits after the implementation of JIT in maintenance in their respective organization.

The Student Leadership Competencies Inventory consists of eight scales, each corresponding to its relevant leadership construct within the Student Leadership Competencies framework (Seemiller, 2013). Due to the increasing use of the framework and associated inventory in leadership development programs in higher education, we conducted a thorough analysis of the psychometric properties within each scale. Specifically, using a national dataset of university student responses, we analyzed internal reliability statistics, and conducted exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation and maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis for each of the eight scales. Our results suggested that all scales, overall, possess sufficient strength to be considered valid measures of the leadership constructs within the Inventory, with some notably high co-variances between certain sub-scale factors in several scales.

Emergency medical services (EMS) educational standards in Saudi Arabia have developed at an unprecedented rate, and the rapid pace of development has resulted in a considerable disparity of educational approaches. Therefore, an empirically based core competency framework should be developed. The aim was to utilize exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in the reduction and generation of a theoretical Saudi competency model.

A purposive sample was utilized in a national quantitative cross-sectional study design of Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) healthcare workers. The instrument comprised 41 core competency items rated on a Likert scale. EFA alpha factoring with oblique promax rotation was applied to the 41 items.

A total of 450 EMS healthcare providers participated in the study, of whom 422 (93.8 per cent) were male and 28 (6.2 per cent) female. Of the participants, 230 (60 per cent) were aged 29–39 years and 244 (54.2 per cent) had 5–9 years of experience. An EFA of instrument items generated five factors: professionalism, preparedness, communication, clinical and personal with an eigenvalue > 1, representing 67.5 per cent of total variance. Only variables that had a loading value >0.40 were utilized in the factor solution.

The EFA model Saudi ParamEdic Competency Scale (SPECS) has been identified, with 27 core competency items and five overarching factors. The model has considerable similarities to other medical competency frameworks. However, some aspects are specifically unique to the Saudi EMS context. The SPECS model provides an academic blueprint that can be used by paramedic educational programs to ensure empirical alignment with the needs of the industry and community.

The active and intentional involvement of a person in changing and developing as a person is a crucial and worth considering phenomenon that comes under the umbrella of positive psychology. There has been a previous study done on personal growth initiative (PGI) but that study did not explain whether this phenomenon exceeds in men or in women. Plus, previous studies were confined to college students only. This study aims to assess how gender influences PGI, to validate the psychometric properties of the PGI scale and to evaluate the relationship of PGI with mental well-being, career orientation and to examine whether this factor dominates in men or women and to critically validate at what age an individual starts initiating personal growth. The other main objective of the study is to work on the limitations and gaps left in previous studies on PGI by establishing a psychometrically reliable and valid scale/instrument.

To develop a scale, first, focus group discussions were conducted with six groups. Through random sampling, a sample of 50 men and 50 women were taken for the pilot study and N = 449 (156 men and 293 women) for the main study with ages ranging from 18 to 35 years were taken (M = 42.30, SD = 12.61). The study consisted of focus group discussions followed by thematic analysis and item pool generation which further followed the main study analysis. For the development of the scale, a theoretical basis along with focus group discussion was conducted to establish an item pool of 123 items. Afterward, 7 experts in the surroundings examined those 123 items to perform subject expert matter to establish content validity. Mixed method was used as a research method in which exploratory sequential design was used. Focus groups were used as a data collection technique. Random sampling is used to collect participants for study/methodology/approach – the study consisted of focus group discussions followed by thematic analysis and item pool generation which further followed the main study analysis. A 19 item five-point Likert-type scale is constructed for public administration on a sample of N = 449 (men = 156 and women = 293). Alpha reliability of the scale (0.83), Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) (0.88) and Bartlett’s, psychometric properties of study variables skewness (0.47), kurtosis (−0.17). Inter item correlation matrix, item-total correlation, Scree plotting, t-test (t = −1.90) and (p = 0.05) and linear regression analysis are analyzed on the data and items. This scale is kept parsimonious so that it could be understood by the general population as well.

A 19 item five-point Likert-type scale is constructed for public administration on a sample of N = 449 (men = 156 and women = 293). High Alpha reliability of the scale (a = 0.83), KMO (0.88) and Bartlett’s, psychometric properties of study variables skewness (0.47), kurtosis (−0.17). Inter item correlation matrix, Scree plotting, t-test (t = −1.90) and (p = 0.05) and linear regression analysis are analyzed on the data and items. Three factors i.e. effectiveness, shaping and aptitude were formed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). KMO value of 0.88 suggests that the sample is sufficient to perform EFA. Regression analysis suggests that gender is positively predicting PGI as results are statistically.

Some of the limitations of this scale on which the future researchers can work are that the sample included participants above age 18 only, so for future researchers they could include participants below this age and find out the PGI factor in them. The sample also included mostly unmarried individuals so for future applications they can find out the extent to which being married can affect the PGI factor, as compared to being unmarried. Another thing that should be mentioned is that the main objective was to find out whether PGI differs among men and women and as the results show that it does differ on the basis of gender but for future studies, the researchers could work on if there is also a difference in men and women in the three subscales (formed during EFA).

This scale is developed using a significant element of human personality called personal growth which is applicable to various categories and settings of the society to measure the aptitude and inclination toward PGI. This scale can be eligibly administered for research purposes for measuring the growth attitude as a reliable predictor in suitable combination with other expected variables like career development.

The findings suggest the instrument to be psychometrically valid and reliable and can be helpful in many domains such as industrial organizations, career counseling areas and clinical and research settings. Also, the instrument can be beneficial for future studies in identifying other possible relationships with multiple variables. The current study is an original work to assess the level of PGI in men and women as the previous studies did not include participants below 25 and also they did not assess the inclination of PGI comparably in men and women.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dimensions of Indian manufacturing firms’ competencies and to study the impact of these competencies on firm performance.

The authors have adopted a literature survey to identify variables and gaps in the research. Based on the construct and its item identified through the literature review the authors have developed a structured questionnaire which was pre-tested before being used for the final survey. The authors have collected data from 100 firms out of 275 targeted firms in two phases which represents a 36.36 per cent response rate. The data have been subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using varimax rotation, which reduced the data into seven parsimonious and orthogonal factors. The authors then carried out regression analysis using EFA output to test the relationship between six independent variables, representing competencies of the firm and performance.

Findings show that EFA has reduced the data into seven factors, out of which six represent firm competencies and one represents firm performance. The competencies which have been identified are supply-demand coordination and product pricing, logistics, marketing, procurement, manufacturing simplicity and product quality and preventive maintenance. The EFA output was further tested using multiple linear regression analysis which shows that out of six competencies, four are positively supporting, except procurement which is negatively supporting and logistics which is found to be statistically insignificant.

The conclusive model suggests that there is considerable impact from other deterministic variables which are not assumed in the present study, and some of the variance has been accounted for by stochastic variables and response error. However, utmost care has been taken to minimise response error by personal follow-up with each of these firms. The outcome of the quantitative analysis provides an insight into firm competencies and their impact on firm performance. It is very important for the managers who are interested in deriving superior performance from their firm and focusing on supply-demand coordination and product pricing, manufacturing simplicity, marketing and product quality and preventive maintenance practices.

This original study has been carried out by researchers in India on Indian manufacturing firms and adopted an EFA technique to identify dimensions which are unique in their contribution.

The purpose of this paper is to explore key factors driving four types of brand relationships, which will explain the reasons why different relationships can form in theory and direct brand managers to build brand relationships in practice.

A sample of 702 data was collected through four branch scales. The empirical methods of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used in turn to extract the key factors driving every kind of brand relationships.

The conclusion is that the established instrument relationships are driven by three factors which are: sociogroup pressure, condition restriction and saving the existing; the established emotion relationships are driven by four factors which are company reputation, approval of geography, approval of authority and word of mouth; the acquired instrument relationships are driven by three factors which are low price, brand homogeneity and attempt on new products: and the acquired emotion relationships are driven by six factors which are brand meaning, the staffs' service, marketing promotion, product design, product value and brand element.

There were three limitations in this research. First, the limitation of the sample structure decided this research as an exploratory one. Second, this research only adopted a static perspective although a relationship is a dynamic concept. Third, a few items were not drawn up appropriately so that the fitness of a few models was not perfect.

The formation mechanisms of different brand relationships have not been entirely explored in the former literatures. Based on a new sortation theory of four brand relationships in China, this research exploratorily put forward the completed key factors driving every kind of relationships.

Lean construction (LC) is an important strategy to improve the results of organizations in the civil construction sector. However, there are barriers that hinder the success of implementing LC. The literature presents many barriers, which makes it difficult to make a diagnosis about the presence of these barriers within an organization. However, if companies could identify the main difficulties, they would face to implement LC, they could prepare by strengthening their weaknesses. This paper aims to diagnose a small set of factors that identifies the most significant barriers that must be considered before implementing lean construction.

This study comprises an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). For this, a questionnaire was developed based on an extensive literature search on the barriers that hinder the implementation of LC. Using this questionnaire as a data collection instrument, a survey was conducted that obtained 135 responses from managers working in civil construction in Brazil. EFA was conducted using SPSS software.

This study identified seven critical factors for successful implementation of LC: degree of cooperation within the work teams, use of an adequate performance measurement system, occurrence of job delays, level of participation of those involved in the construction of decisions, degree of leadership openness, positioning in the face of news and problems in the flow of information.

The barriers to implementing LC can be different depending on the social and economic context in which companies are inserted. This work was conducted in an emerging country. Thus, it would be important that the same be applied to managers from other countries in different contexts to verify if the result found here is confirmed.

There are many works in the literature that address the barriers to LC culminating in an extensive list, whose complexity of operationalizing the identification of their presence in an organization, ends up becoming another barrier. Given the negative influence that these barriers have for the success of LC, this work sets out to convert this extensive list into a short list that is easy to understand and use.

Measuring internal response of online learning is seen as fundamental to absorptive capacity which stimulates knowledge assimilation. However, the evaluation of practice and research of validated instruments that could effectively measure online learning response behavior is limited. Thus, in this study, a new instrument was designed based on literature to determine the structural variables that exist in the online learning response behavior.

A structured survey was designed and distributed to 410 Malaysian students enrolled in higher-education institutions. The questionnaire has 38 items, all of which were scored using a seven-point likert scale. To begin with, exploratory factor analysis with three types of extraction methods (i.e. principal component, principal axis factoring and maximum likelihood) was used as the method for comparing the outcomes of each extraction method's grouping variables by constantly using a varimax rotation method. In the second phase, reliability analysis was performed to determine the reliability level of the grouping variables, and finally, correlation analysis was performed to determine the discriminant nomological validity of the grouping variables.

The findings revealed that nine grouping variables were retrieved, with all items having a good value of factor loading and communalities, as well as an adequate degree of reliability. These extracted variables have good discriminant and nomological validity, as evidenced by correlation analysis, which confirmed that the directions of relationships among the extracted dimensions follow the expected theory (i.e. positive direction) and the correlation coefficient is less than 0.70.

This study proposes a comprehensive set of questionnaires that measure the student's online learning response behavior. These questionnaires have been developed on the basis of an extensive literature review and have undergone a rigorous process of validity and reliability for the purpose of enhancing students' online learning response behavior.

This study's findings will aid academic practitioners in assessing the online learning response behavior of students, as well as enhancing the questionnaire's boost factor when administered in an online learning environment.