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1 – 10 of 22Ben Odigbo, Felix Eze, Rose Odigbo and Joshua Kajang
Background: This work is a situation analysis of reported human rights abuses that have characterized the COVID-19 controls and lockdown in some countries of the world. This is as…
Abstract
Background: This work is a situation analysis of reported human rights abuses that have characterized the COVID-19 controls and lockdown in some countries of the world. This is as documented by reliable mass media sources, relevant international organizations and human rights non-governmental organizations between January 2020 to April 2020.
Methods: A combined content analysis, critical analysis, and doctrinal method is applied in this study in line with the reproducible research process. It is a secondary-data-based situation analysis study, conducted through a qualitative research approach.
Findings: The findings revealed among other things that: COVID-19 lockdowns and curfews' enforcement by law enforcement officers contravened some people's fundamental human rights within the first month. Security forces employed overt and immoderate forces to implement the orders. The lockdown and curfew enforcements were not significantly respectful of human life and human dignity. The COVID-19 emergency declarations in some countries were discriminatory against minorities and vulnerable groups in some countries.
Research limitations/implications: This report is based on data from investigative journalism and opinions of the United Nations and international human rights organizations, and not on police investigations or reports. The implication of the study is that if social marketing orientations and risk communication and community engagement attitudes were given to the law enforcement officers implementing the COVID-19 lockdowns and or curfews, the human rights and humanitarian rights breaches witnessed would have been avoided or drastically minimized.
Originality: The originality of this review is that it is the first to undertake a situation analysis of the COVID-19 lockdowns and curfews human rights abuses in some countries. The study portrayed the poor level of social marketing orientations and risk communication and community engagement attitudes amongst law enforcement officers, culminating in the frosty police-public relationships.
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Shahid Bhuian and Sujeet Kumar Sharma
The purpose of this paper is to study the role of religiosity in consumer pro-environmental behavioral intention (CPEBI). Consumer pro-environmental value, knowledge, concern and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the role of religiosity in consumer pro-environmental behavioral intention (CPEBI). Consumer pro-environmental value, knowledge, concern and attitude predict CPEBI; however, previous findings are neither consistent about their predictabilities nor clear about the order of importance of these predictors. Further, while religiosity has the potential to affect values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, its role in CPEBI research has been neglected.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected from a sample of 306 respondents from Oman, an Islamic country with mostly Muslim consumers, and analyzed using a neural network model.
Findings
This study finds that the most important predictors of CPEBI, in order of importance, are attitude, concern, knowledge, religiosity and value. Further, results indicate that religiosity moderates the impacts of, in order of importance, attitude, value, concern and knowledge on CPEBI.
Research limitations/implications
Both businesses and policy makers can prioritize intervention strategies according to the importance of the predictors and can leverage faith-based messages and programs for promoting CPEBI toward creating a better environment for all.
Originality/value
Determining the predictabilities of psychological factors and their interactions with religiosity to predict CPEBI in Islamic countries is necessary for promoting environmentally friendly products in Islamic countries and for reducing the ecological damage to the environment.
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The purpose of this paper is threefold: to assess the impact of green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green brands, and green brand knowledge on green product…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to assess the impact of green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green brands, and green brand knowledge on green product purchase intention; to investigate the influence of green brand knowledge on consumers’ attitude toward green brands; and to examine the moderating effect of green brand knowledge on the relationship between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was utilized to gather the data (n=300) for this study. The purposive sampling technique was used, involving respondents who practice a green lifestyle and have had green product purchasing experience. The partial least squares (PLS) method, which is a variance-based technique for the analysis of structural equation modeling, was used to analyze the data, with the assistance of the SmartPLS computer program version 2.0.
Findings
Based on the standardized path coefficients of the structural model from the PLS results, green brand knowledge was found to be the most significant determinant of green product purchase intention. Knowledge of green brands has caused consumers to develop positive green marketing awareness and has bolstered their interest in fortifying the environment whilst preventing its degradation. Furthermore, green brand knowledge also impacted consumers’ attitude toward green brands. However, this factor was an insignificant moderator of the impact between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention.
Practical implications
Green brand positioning can be used by firms and businesses to better market their products and improve consumers’ green brand knowledge and attitude toward green brands, as well as increase green brand purchase intentions. Successful green brand positioning is seen as an advantage for marketers that can be used to differentiate their products from the available competitors, giving the impression that their products are distinguishable, and thus creating more demand and generating increased intention to purchase more green products.
Originality/value
The empirical results of this study address the gap in the prevailing body of literature in reference to the impact of green brand positioning and consumer attitude toward green brands, as well as the effect of green brand knowledge on green product purchase intention. This study found that green brand knowledge does not moderate the relationship between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention, thus providing insight into this subject matter, which has not been clearly examined in previous studies.
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Georges Samara and Maria Lapeira
The authors conceptually theorize the obstacles and opportunities that women encounter in family businesses embedded in Latin America, by differentiating between two clusters of…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors conceptually theorize the obstacles and opportunities that women encounter in family businesses embedded in Latin America, by differentiating between two clusters of countries embedded in this continent.
Design/methodology/approach
Using secondary data obtained from various sources, the authors adopted a flexible pattern matching methodology, which involves linking theoretical propositions with actual observed patterns. For each proposition, the authors categorize the comparison with the observed data as either confirming or rivaling the expected patterns in the clusters.
Findings
This study’s findings reveal that women have more leadership and employment opportunities in the first cluster (Brazil, Chile, and Mexico) than in the second (Argentina, Colombia, and Peru). The authors propose that these differences are the result of higher tolerance for women in political leadership positions and of the presence of larger and more internationally expanding corporations in the first cluster. We also find differences between two groups of women: female family members and female nonfamily members, with the former being granted much more opportunities than the latter.
Practical implications
This research increases the understanding of potential avenues for managers and policymakers in Latin America to foster gender diversity as a means to remain competitive in a global market. While actions at the state level may be more long-term oriented, others, such as those taken by small and medium-sized family businesses may have more immediate effects in minimizing gender biases and encouraging a greater participation of females in business.
Originality/value
By differentiating between two clusters of countries in Latin America, and by making careful consideration of whether females have family ties, the authors provide a more realistic and contextualized theoretical map that depicts the situation of women in Latin American family businesses. This contextualization is one of the first that attempts to examine how multiple institutional logics impact women in family businesses in an underexplored region of the world while differentiating between female family members and female nonfamily members. These findings inform policymakers and family business owners in Latin America on the peculiar challenges that women encounter in their context, while calling for more measures promote the active presence of females in Latin American family businesses.
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Africa's history of trade, production and financial services that propelled the continent's economic systems existed long before an era of colonisation commonly recognised as…
Abstract
Africa's history of trade, production and financial services that propelled the continent's economic systems existed long before an era of colonisation commonly recognised as beginning in the nineteenth century. By the time the decolonisation of a majority of African countries was achieved in the mid-twentieth century, the African economic identity had been, to a great extent, relegated by Westernised methods and orientations. Today, Indigenous practices are once again resurfacing in Africa's ongoing search for sustainable development, with increasing calls to resuscitate and incorporate these age-long business orientations. This introductory chapter provides readers with a synopsis of all the themes of this second of a two-volume edited book with a focus on the philosophies and practices of Indigenous businesses, which, if successfully explored and scaled up, would make significant contributions to Africa's economic infrastructure.
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Ghassan Elkahlout, Sansom Milton and Ruba Hawa
The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of mud brick houses as an alternative to the more widely adopted emergency shelters used in war-torn Syria. It focuses on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of mud brick houses as an alternative to the more widely adopted emergency shelters used in war-torn Syria. It focuses on the mud houses’ sustainability, cost effectiveness, cultural preference, income generation and security.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a qualitative research approach to a single case study. Interviews were conducted with field experts from the Qatar Red Crescent Society and members of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) community living in mud brick houses.
Findings
The findings reveal that the utilisation of mud houses is a good alternative in relief efforts. The houses are sustainable and cost-effective, take into consideration cultural dynamics and provide economic empowerment to IDPs. However, the maintenance of mud brick houses turns out to be the largest flaw, and this problem requires further research.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the inefficiency of current emergency sheltering practices in Syria and reveals that tents are not a preferred mode of shelter. It further sheds light on a unique case study in which mud houses were used by an aid and development organisation, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. This paper contributes to practical discussion and ideation on more appropriate housing for IDPs.
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Dwi Suhartanto, Norazah Mohd Suki, Mukhamad Najib, Tintin Suhaeni and Rafiati Kania
Environmental pollution due to the enormous usage of conventional plastic products has alerted consumers to change their attitude towards green plastic products. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Environmental pollution due to the enormous usage of conventional plastic products has alerted consumers to change their attitude towards green plastic products. This study aims to examine the effects of environmental concern, knowledge of the environment and religiosity on young Muslim consumers’ attitude towards green plastic products in Indonesia. Additionally, the moderating role of gender on these relationships is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was used as a method of data collection. Data gathered from 231 young Muslim consumers in Bandung, Indonesia, was analysed via the partial least squares-structural equation modelling approach.
Findings
The results revealed that environmental concern is the factor that has the biggest impact on consumers’ attitude and behavioural intentions, both directly and indirectly. This research implies that as a young Muslim’s concern for the environment grows, his or her attitude towards the environment improves, leading them to purchase and endorse green plastic products.
Practical implications
Green plastic product managers should increase the environmental concern of young Muslim consumers through effective marketing communication strategies and green education programs to disseminate a positive message that green plastic products consumption aids in making the environment safe and healthy.
Originality/value
This empirical study is imperative for green managers to improve their capabilities in boosting young Muslim consumers’ attitude towards green plastic products through strengthening consumers’ environmental concern, knowledge of the environment and religiosity towards supporting the sustainable development goals.
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Emmanuel Eze, Rob Gleasure and Ciara Heavin
The implementation of mobile health (mHealth) in developing countries seems to be stuck in a pattern of successive pilot studies that struggle for mainstream implementation. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The implementation of mobile health (mHealth) in developing countries seems to be stuck in a pattern of successive pilot studies that struggle for mainstream implementation. This study addresses the research question: what existing health-related structures, properties and practices are presented by rural areas of developing countries that might inhibit the implementation of mHealth initiatives?
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using a socio-material approach, based on an exploratory case study in West Africa. Interviews and participant observation were used to gather data. A thematic analysis identified important social and material agencies, practices and imbrications which may limit the effectiveness of mHealth apps in the region.
Findings
Findings show that, while urban healthcare is highly structured, best practice-led, rural healthcare relies on peer-based knowledge sharing, and community support. This has implications for the enacted materiality of mobile technologies. While urban actors see mHealth as a tool for automation and the enforcement of responsible healthcare best practice, rural actors see mHealth as a tool for greater interconnectivity and independent, decentralised care.
Research limitations/implications
This study has two significant limitations. First, the study focussed on a region where technology-enabled guideline-driven treatment is the main mHealth concern. Second, consistent with the exploratory nature of this study, the qualitative methodology and the single-case design, the study makes no claim to statistical generalisability.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to adopt a socio-material view that considers existing structures and practices that may influence the widespread adoption and assimilation of a new mHealth app. This helps identify contextual challenges that are limiting the potential of mHealth to improve outcomes in rural areas of developing countries.
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Darlin Apasrawirote, Kritcha Yawised and Paisarn Muneesawang
This study aims to advance the understanding of digital marketing capability by conducting a comprehensive, systematic review of relevant literature at the firm level.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to advance the understanding of digital marketing capability by conducting a comprehensive, systematic review of relevant literature at the firm level.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes categorization and contextualization of qualitative methodologies to review the literature, using Scopus databases to collect 57 journals with 143 peer-reviewed papers as the main focus. The research gaps and DMCs were analyzed and synthesized and presented as collective categorization together with the proposed future direction framework.
Findings
This study proposed the relevance of digital marketing capabilities for businesses and the key measurement of business performance. The proposed dimensions of the digital marketing capabilities framework are to identify new research directions for both marketing and IT strands.
Originality/value
This study classify five main different themes in digital marketing incorporating with digital technologies (DTs) era and proposed relevance of digital marketing capabilities for businesses (B2C and B2B) and keys measurement of business performances.
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