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1 – 10 of 672Prashanth N. Bharadwaj and F. Robert Buchanan
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of self-initiated professional expatriates about their subjective/intangible and objective/tangible successes in both home…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of self-initiated professional expatriates about their subjective/intangible and objective/tangible successes in both home and host countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an empirical study using a survey methodology that included a sample of 211 (Male = 120 and Female = 91) employed professionals from India. Structural equation modeling, ANOVA and t-tests were used to analyze the data.
Findings
This study is unique in examining a sample from a homogeneous population from one country with one segment deciding to be SIEs while the other segment decided to return to their home country. The application of personal initiative (PI) theory and the theory of intrinsic motivation to SIEs is also relatively new. The focus on female professional SIEs from an emerging market to an advanced economy adds value to this study. The results have implications for employers and policy makers as well as US universities.
Originality/value
This study is unique in examining a sample from a homogenous population from one country with one segment deciding to be SIEs while the other segment deciding to return to their home country. The application of personal initiative (PI) theory to SIEs is also relatively new. The focus on female professional SIEs from an emerging market to an advanced economy adds value to this study. The results have implications for employers and policy makers as well as to US universities.
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Saju Jose, Nilesh Khare and F. Robert Buchanan
The purpose of this paper is to look at corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related actions to see whether they relate to clients’ perception of CSR.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look at corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related actions to see whether they relate to clients’ perception of CSR.
Design/methodology/approach
Ninety-nine bank customers in Brisbane, Australia were surveyed by mail in a cross-sectional field study.
Findings
Not all CSR-related behaviors of the organizations were influential to perceptions of social responsibility. Big picture actions for the betterment of humanity were found to be influential to the perception of the firm’s CSR. However, respondents did not relate the firms’ profit and revenue initiatives to social responsibility, other than negativity toward false and misleading practices.
Research limitations/implications
Results are limited to one industry in Australia.
Practical implications
Actions for human betterment were found to be influential to the perception of the firm’s CSR. Also the uses of dishonest marketing schemes were seen as detrimental to CSR perceptions of the firm. However, respondents did not connect the firm’s business actions affecting profitability with customers, to their perceptions of its CSR. Thus, the authors conclude that altruism from a “big picture” standpoint has value in shaping CSR perception, but the organization may not always find it necessary to deprioritize profit, or to attempt to weave CSR actions into every aspect of their business.
Originality/value
The inquiry takes a novel approach to CSR, capturing an unexplored aspect of how CSR is perceived and valued by stakeholders.
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The purpose of this exploratory study is an examination of some perceptions of US education, as experienced by foreign MBA students.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this exploratory study is an examination of some perceptions of US education, as experienced by foreign MBA students.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal field study captured perceptions of a group of 51 international students over a one-year interval. The first anticipatory survey was done in India, and the follow-up was made in the USA at the end of a foreign sojourn semester. Inter-item correlations and t-tests were used to examine variance in student perceptions, highlighted by qualitative elements.
Findings
In general, the students went home, less impressed than they had expected to be in terms of the perceived general quality of the American business education, as well as their abilities to make friends with the local people. Additionally, the observed preparation of the American students for master’s studies was not nearly as high as the foreign students had anticipated.
Research limitations/implications
Results are not generalizable to broad populations, as the sample was small and localized.
Social implications
Emerging markets are successfully luring locals and sojourners based on cost and proximity as they achieve greater legitimacy in their institutional credentials. This could challenge the preeminence of Western higher education, especially in light of concerns arising from marketization and rigor. Meanwhile, developed market institutions need to be strategically mindful of their international guests as a resource rather than a commodity.
Originality/value
Extant internationalization studies tend to focus on administrative viewpoints, whereas this research examines the perspective of international students, which may be indicative of lessening gaps between perceptions of quality of developed and emerging market higher education.
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Home country support from hardship nation émigrés is an under-researched topic area, particularly pertaining to Palestine which is a comparatively extreme case of oppression and…
Abstract
Purpose
Home country support from hardship nation émigrés is an under-researched topic area, particularly pertaining to Palestine which is a comparatively extreme case of oppression and apartheid. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of this motivation, in context to well-known dynamics of diaspora behavior, to understand individual and situational variables that drive ethical decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory mixed methods field study using self-reported variables. Structural equation modeling was conducted through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Qualitative data is presented through thematic analysis and bracketing.
Findings
A desire to live in Palestine in the future was not in itself significantly related to a favorable outlook for the country or to a desire to support the nation. Findings indicate that family support and a sense of altruism and hopefulness for the future of Palestine influenced home country nationalism in charitable investments in hospitals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and educational institutions. Subjects’ direct portfolio investments tended to be primarily real estate and to a lesser degree in business operations.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size needs to be larger and draw from greater diversity in overseas locations, as well as respondents representing Gaza and Israel locations. Objective outcome variables would be desirous.
Social implications
Social constructivism theory is applied in understanding the ethical nature of the loyalty of these diasporans.
Originality/value
The Palestine diaspora is under-researched, particularly individual differences in motives for overseas Palestinians’ support of their ancestral homeland. Some might consider it irrational to desire to return and invest in the nation. Policymakers can benefit from empirical evidence of the type of investment and their rationales. A profile emerges in the respondents’ commitment of financial resources for personal and family real estate. Their direct investments include business ownership, as well as education and health care organizations, impacting the sustainability of this nation.
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Renee Warning and F. Robert Buchanan
The purpose of this paper is to inquire whether gender plays a role in the supervisory preference of female workers, and to establish a starting‐point in the identification of any…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inquire whether gender plays a role in the supervisory preference of female workers, and to establish a starting‐point in the identification of any bias that is discovered.
Design/methodology/approach
A field experiment of 226 adults of both genders was used to test the hypotheses. It combined a video vignette with a survey that employed a dispositional index followed by attitudinal measures.
Findings
Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and regression analyses were used to highlight the biases that were discovered. Females believed that other women are good managers, but the female workers did not actually want to work for them. The results may have some basis in females' perceptions of female managers as being high in dominance. The female manager was also seen as being emotional. More specifically, the female manager was seen as being more nervous and more aggressive than a male manager. It was also discovered that female preference for male supervisors increased with greater numbers of years in the workforce.
Research limitations/implications
This is an exploratory study. Workers surveyed were enrolled in a large metropolitan US university. Subsequent studies need to include a broader sample, particularly including workers from earlier generations. Extensive additional research is essential.
Originality/value
The findings lend credence to strong but seldom discussed anecdotal undercurrents of women's unwillingness to work for other women. Although female managers have been studied to a limited degree, there has been no empirical research on the female subordinate relationship. The study makes an entry into this important question of whether women have a prejudice against working for other women. The practitioner/policymaker implications are substantial.
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Saju Jose, Nilesh Khare and F. Robert Buchanan
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of the firm affect poor captive consumers’ repurchase intentions, and whether or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of the firm affect poor captive consumers’ repurchase intentions, and whether or not CSR activities may moderate established relationships that drive repurchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was administered to 201 poor microfinance borrowers at the bottom of the pyramid in India in a cross-sectional field study format. Multivariate regression is used to examine relationships between CSR and repurchase intention.
Findings
All else being the same, CSR activities aimed at the borrowers’ communities affects repurchase intentions positively even among poor captive borrowers. Further, positive perceptions of CSR to some extent mitigate the negative impact of the dissatisfaction on repurchase intentions. Unmarried borrowers, mostly female, were more moved by CSR impressions compared to their married counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could identify other aspects of demographic differences in borrowers, and capture more about attitudes toward CSR and motivations for borrowing. Longitudinal study can establish causality that cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional field study. More diverse locations and organizations would offer wider generalizability. It will be interesting to examine if poor and captive customers would care about CSR activities even when such activities are targeted at recipients unrelated to them or their communities.
Originality/value
The dynamics of CSR in poor captive consumer communities are somewhat novel. Microfinance context makes it even more so as the borrower is both a client and a recipient of CSR simultaneously. Results suggest that like well-off consumers, poor and captive customers also care about dissatisfaction and CSR.
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The purpose of this project is to examine the development and learning of higher education policy makers in emerging markets as they confront the need for sustainability and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to examine the development and learning of higher education policy makers in emerging markets as they confront the need for sustainability and global competitiveness of their workforces.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparative commentary is based on representative countries in emerging markets of similar demographics and market maturity.
Findings
Policy makers can deploy scarce resources more wisely with regionally astute strategies that leverage their unique aspects in light of learning from experiences of other emerging market peers.
Originality/value
This review and commentary takes a macro approach to micro policy issues through a boundary spanning comparative approach.
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Saju Jose and F. Robert Buchanan
– The aim of this paper is to survey the working poor who are microfinance borrowers, examining their perceptions of customer satisfaction and corporate social responsibility.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to survey the working poor who are microfinance borrowers, examining their perceptions of customer satisfaction and corporate social responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
Validated scale measures were presented in a cross-sectional field study survey of 201 respondents. OLS regression was used after determining factor loadings and reliabilities.
Findings
Customer dissatisfaction with the microfinance product, lack of commitment from lender's staff, and dissatisfaction with informational support, were all significantly related to future purchase intentions. Only dissatisfaction toward the firm's people was significantly related to perceptions of CSR.
Practical implications
Dissatisfied poor would prefer to buy elsewhere, even if they find the seller to be socially responsible. However, attitudes and behaviors of the firm's agents convey low CSR. Microfinance customers were sensitive to customer service. Service quality was also significantly related to their perceptions of CSR.
Originality/value
This exploratory research is novel, examining stakeholders at the bottom of the pyramid. Indian respondents came from the origins of microfinance, and are seldom sampled. Despite being captive customers with few alternatives, microfinance borrowers are sensitive to customer service. This service is also significantly related to their perceptions of CSR.
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Syed Zamberi Ahmad, F. Robert Buchanan and Norita Ahmad
Motivations for study abroad in tourism and hospitality were examined as to the influence of a variety of personal criteria in the individual decision process of adult learners to…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivations for study abroad in tourism and hospitality were examined as to the influence of a variety of personal criteria in the individual decision process of adult learners to select a host country and host institution of study. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Push-pull factors (Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002) formed the basic framework of inquiry. Quantitative analysis was done through primary data collection using hard copy surveys. Qualitative inquiry involved interviews with open-ended questions.
Findings
Country attractions of the host location was the highest ranked decision criteria, followed by considerations of the educational institution.
Research limitations/implications
Prestige and reputation of the education provider is of high value. However, greater decision influence was seen in respondents’ selection of host country for the attributes of safe and pleasant living conditions, as well as on going career opportunities locally. Sampling was cross-sectional and limited to one industry and one country. Although these are natural control variables, generalizability may be limited, and requires further study.
Originality/value
Policymakers should be mindful of the match between the educational program and the site selection. Prestige of the school may not overcome a suboptimal location decision.
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F. Robert Buchanan, Kong‐Hee Kim and Randall Basham
The purpose of this study is to explore career orientations of business master's degree seekers in comparison with social work degree pursuers in an effort to provide insight for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore career orientations of business master's degree seekers in comparison with social work degree pursuers in an effort to provide insight for educators and policy makers.
Design/methodology/approach
A web‐based survey of current master's students from two graduate schools at a large university provided 388 respondents who were employed full‐time while pursuing their degrees. Hypotheses were tested with hierarchical regression and MANOVA analysis.
Findings
Business degree pursuers are more strongly influenced by the motive to achieve professional advancement than the motive to acquire knowledge. The findings indicate that careerism and educational motives for business master's students are related to recognition of job alternatives that are an improvement over the current job being held. Social workers' organizational mobility perceptions were influenced by careerism and a desire to gain knowledge, and less influenced by professional advancement motives. Interestingly, the results show that social work graduate students were more careerist than business degree pursuers.
Research limitations/implications
Although this research focuses on the career orientations of business master's students in a comparison to social workers, a broader sample employing samples in other study fields would further expand the knowledge regarding the career orientations of graduate students.
Practical implications
Previous research has mostly dealt with cost/benefit analyses of the value of master's level education. The findings in this research would help policy makers and graduate program educators in a better understanding of students, to assist in marketing, placement, and curriculum design.
Originality/value
The value of master's level education is under‐researched. Much of the existing information is anecdotal. This study deals with specific elements of educational motivation, career orientation, and human capital.
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