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The study aimed at identifying the degree of professional competence of faculty members from the students’ perspective at Kuwait and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie, and identifying the effect of the variables of gender and academic year.

The researchers developed a 24-item questionnaire and administered it to 115 students each from Kuwait (male: 57, female: 58) and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (male: 21, female: 94). The study used a descriptive approach to analyze the collected data.

According to the students' perspective, the average professional competence of faculty members at Kuwait University is 2.74 for the teaching competencies, 2.29 for the technology competencies, 2.65 for the evaluation competencies and 2.71 for the human competencies. Similarly, at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie, the mean of the professional competencies of faculty members from the students' perspective is 2.31 for the teaching competencies, 1.96 for the technology competencies, 2.24 for the evaluation competencies and 2.34 for the human competencies. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence at Kuwait and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie due to the gender of all domains in favor of females. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence in Kuwait due to the academic year of the technology domain between the first year and second year, in favor of the second year. There were significant differences due to the variable of the academic year of the human domain between the first year and the third year, in favor of the third year. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie due to the academic year of the technology domain (second, third, fourth year and more) and second year, in favor of (the second year). There were significant differences due to the academic year of the human domain between the first and second year, in favor of second year.

The authors hope that their findings will inspire further research in this area and help universities to better support their faculty members and improve student outcomes.

This paper examines gender diversity in the Australian valuation industry from the perspective of valuers in senior management and leadership roles and discusses gender diversity policies and practices in their organisations. Then, it explores the initiatives that can be implemented to improve gender diversity in the Australian valuation industry.

A focus group discussion was conducted with valuers in senior management and leadership roles from selected large valuation firms and government valuation agencies in Melbourne, Australia. Data collected through the focus group discussion was combined with secondary data sourced from journals, online articles and archival materials.

The findings reveal that whilst gender diversity in the Australian valuation industry has improved over the years, females remain underrepresented. Nonetheless, whilst some valuation companies have recognised the need to address the underrepresentation of women and introduced specific gender-focussed human resource policies and practices, these initiatives are not streamlined and implemented across the industry.

The study highlights the need for closer collaboration between key stakeholders such as universities, professional associations, valuation companies and government agencies in devising strategies to attract female talents into the valuation industry.

The paper is the first empirical study to assess gender diversity in the Australian valuation industry from the perspective of valuers in management and leadership roles. The proposed policies can inform future initiatives to improve gender diversity in the valuation industry.

The major purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job competency in the effect of transformational leadership to performance of university lecturers. This article also attempts to examine the direct effect of transformational leadership on job competency and lecturer performance.

For the purpose of the study, quantitative research was applied by conducting an empirical survey with the active participation of 223 lecturers. The survey was conducted in ten high-ranked private universities in Jakarta, Indonesia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for the measurement and structural model analyses.

The results reveal that the effect of transformational leadership on lecturer performance is expressed only by indirect effect (through lecturer competency). Even though transformational leadership has a positive direct effect on lecturer performance, it is not statistically significant. This paper highlights the crucial role of lecturer competency in the performance of academic scholars. The findings suggest transformational leadership is fundamental in fostering competencies, which, in turn, improve the work performance of university lecturers.

This study makes significant contributions to the understanding of the interaction between transformational leadership and performance in higher education, and the statistical significance of lecturer work competency in mediating this relationship. The results of this study provide a snapshot of the contextual mechanism linking transformational leadership and lecturer performance.

Applying resource-based view and the configurational approach theory, this study seeks to understand the moderating role of age and gender between human resource practices and employee competencies relationship.

43 food processing firms of India participated in the study. Applying multilevel approach, the responses of 295 human resource managers and 3,557 employees were used for the analysis.

The human resource practices–employee competencies relationship was stronger in the case of young employees. Furthermore, the relationship was better in case of male employees over female employees. The results urge for greater attention toward age and gender diversity issues while tailoring human resource practices for enhancing employee skills. This article contributes the human resource management literature by exploring the role of age and gender, which has been used as the control variables as the moderating variables for governing the human resource practices–employee competencies relationship.

Special focus can be placed on extensive custom in-house training and development activities. Proper division of work can be done for new employees and experienced employees depending upon their learning capabilities. The firms can do so by either implementing formal or informal organizational structures to achieve full gains. Firms should focus largely on narrowing the development practices adopted for diverse age groups of workforce population. The four practices proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2006) for ensuring effectiveness of development practices and its impact on old age employee effectiveness and attitude should be put in practice.

The originality of this study lies in its exploration of the intricate interplay among age, gender and human resource practices in shaping employee competencies. By understanding how these factors interact within the human resource practices–employee competencies framework, this research offers a unique perspective on the evolving workforce dynamics. It goes beyond the conventional human resource management strategies to uncover nuanced insights, shedding light on tailored approaches that consider the specific needs and aspirations of diverse employees. This innovative perspective contributes to a more inclusive, efficient and adaptable work environment, enriching both the academic understanding of human resources and the practical implementation of strategies for contemporary organizations.

Entrepreneurial trait and behaviour approaches are used to identify differing entrepreneurial profiles. Specifically, this study aims to determine which entrepreneurial competencies (ECs) can predict entrepreneurial action (EA) for distinct profiles, such as male versus female, start-up versus established and for entrepreneurs within different age groups and educational levels.

The research was conducted using a survey method on a large sample of 1,150 South African entrepreneurs. Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) algorithms were used to build decision trees to illustrate distinct entrepreneurial profiles.

Each profile has a different set of ECs that predict EA, with a growth mindset being the most significant predictor of action. Therefore, this study confirms that a “one-size-fits-all” approach cannot be applied when profiling entrepreneurs.

From a pedagogical standpoint, different combinations of these ECs for each profile provide priority information for identification of appropriate candidates (e.g. the highest potential for success) and training initiatives, effective pedagogies and programme design (e.g. which individual ECs should be trained and how should they be trained).

Previous work has mostly focused on demographic variables and included a single sample to profile entrepreneurs. This study maintains much wider applicability in terms of examining profiles in a systematic way. The large sample size supports quantitative analysis of the comparisons between different entrepreneurial profiles using unconventional analyses. Furthermore, as far as can be determined, this represents the first CHAID conducted in a developing country context, especially South Africa, focusing on individual ECs predicting EA.

There are significantly fewer women than men in managerial positions, mainly project management. This problem is noticeable in the construction and engineering sectors, traditionally male-dominated industries with leadership much dependent on masculine qualities. This study examines the obstacles to the career progression of professional female project managers (PFPMs) in the Ghanaian construction industry.

Twenty potential obstacles to women's career progression in the construction industry were identified from a comprehensive review of the literature. A questionnaire was prepared and administered among eighty project managers who work in large construction firms in Ghana. Data obtained were analysed using one sample t-test, Kendall's concordance test, Chi-square test and exploratory factor analysis.

The findings suggest the significance of all the twenty factors as potential obstacles to the career progression of PFPMs. The exploratory factor analysis identified five underlying grouped obstacles: “leadership and human capital related issues”, “issues related to discrimination of all forms”, “career aspiration and planning issues”, “female related role conflicts”, and “recruitment and selection issues”.

The subjective nature of the views of the respondents could influence the evaluation of the obstacles. With this study only exploring the dimensions underlying the significant obstacles, future studies could examine the interrelationships between the various obstacles and move on to determine their impacts on the career progression of professional female PMs as well.

Having an in-depth understanding of these obstacles, stakeholders and other industry practitioners in Ghana could make informed decisions on measures to put in place to address some of these critical issues to raise the standard of professional female PMs in the construction industry. Policymakers and gender advocates in Ghana could also take up some of the critical obstacles identified and provide suitable strategies to educate and create the needed awareness of the industry on those obstacles. Practically, the findings from this study can be valuable for informing decision-making at different management levels in the construction industry.

With country-specific (Ghana) obstacles identified, the findings significantly contribute to the literature on the career advancement of females in the construction sector.

Although event industry employees are predominantly female, there is a critical scarcity of women in leadership roles. Like other industries worldwide, women in the events industry experience several barriers to leadership roles. The unique characteristics of the events industry exacerbate these barriers and have led to more women leaving the company or even the industry. This study aims to investigate the impact of leadership barriers, including the perception of a glass ceiling and the importance of leadership skills in promotion decisions on career satisfaction, work-family conflict and turnover intention of employees in the events industry.

Data was collected from members of an international event association, and 427 responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Findings suggested the perception of a glass ceiling and the importance of leadership skills in promotion can impact career satisfaction, work-family conflict and turnover intention of employees in the events industry.

This study extends the scope of research on leadership barriers beyond assessing their causes by analyzing their outcomes in the event industry. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first in event research and the broader hospitality industry to consider the perceptions of male and female employees regarding leadership barriers by using a foundation of the social role theory.

Women entrepreneurs are often categorized and assessed for various outcomes based on their start-up motivations. It is generally assumed that entrepreneurs with opportunity motivation have better performance when compared to necessity entrepreneurs. This study aims to test these suppositions through the lens of the entrepreneur’s motivation to learn (MTL) and level of female entrepreneurial competencies (FECs), namely, business and management, entrepreneurial, human relations (HR) and personal.

Data collected from 344 respondents through a survey questionnaire was analyzed using the structural equation modelling – partial least squares method using SmartPLS 4.

The findings highlight the need of recognizing the differentials between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurs as they were found to influence performance and learning outcomes. Opportunity entrepreneurship was found to significantly impact both MTL and the FECs. The authors also observed that business and management skills along with HR competencies played a greater role in the firm performance.

The findings demonstrate a case for specialized, tailor-made policy approaches rather than the “one size fits all” approach as evident in many government programs. As necessity entrepreneurs form a vital part of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem, apart from mentoring, need-based competency development programs may be looked at. Opportunity entrepreneurs may need support and encouragement through advanced skilling and uncomplicated funding options.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, empirical studies related to women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises in India establishing the relationship between start-up motivation and business performance are scarce. Even in the global context, this is one of the initial studies to examine the relationship through the lens of MTL and competencies.

Gender bias and stereotypes are universal issues in today’s society. This study presents a comprehensive review of women’s leadership based on bibliometric analysis. The feminist approach to leadership is helpful in many ways, and it could be the type of leadership needed in the challenging world of academia. Women present unique characteristics and traits, particularly their motherly approach to leadership.

A review of the literature based on bibliometric analysis by mapping the knowledge structure of the subject is conferred by uncovering the past, present and future trends based on three bibliometric analyses.

The finding suggests that gender equality, stereotypes and barriers in women’s leadership are at the forefront of the subject in HEIs. The overall system, mindset and willingness for institutional transformation are needed to change the mindset of accepting women as leaders of HEIs.

This study brought the significant idea of increasing women’s empowerment in HEIs, eventually strengthening institutional leadership’s capability towards advanced education.

This study would present a crucial foundation in women’s empowerment, particularly from the HEIs perspective and from the generic women’s leadership literature.

This chapter examines the role extracurricular activities have in developing higher education (HE) student’s entrepreneurial competencies and capabilities. Specifically, this chapter examines: What type of students participate in extracurricular activities? Why do students choose to participate? and What activities offer for entrepreneurial competency and capability development. An electronic survey (e-survey) collected pre- and post-data from two groups: Group A – students participating in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship (EEEx) activities (n = 119); and Group B – students engaged in non-enterprise-related extracurricular activities (n = 72). Findings indicated that students in both groups were motivated to engage in extracurricular activities to enhance their skills, fulfil personal interests and enhance their employability. Utilising Morris, Webb, Fu, and Singhal’s (2013) entrepreneurial competencies list as a model, there were found to increase in all but one competency (creativity) for Group A, yet for the control group, most competencies decreased. Independent sample T-tests demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the final ratings of entrepreneurial capability between Group A and Group B, however, the degree of improvement for perceived entrepreneurial capability, pre-to-post, for those participating in enterprise activities was substantially higher than the control group. Finally, students participating in EEEx activities were more likely female, studying a programme within the Business School, and in the second or final stage of their programme. This chapter demonstrates the value that EEEx activities provide in a competency context for students and tasks educators with considering how to develop and signpost specific entrepreneurial competencies and capabilities.