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1 – 10 of 664This systematic literature review investigates the contribution of design thinking (DT) as a process and tool to drive innovation in a sustainable built environment (SBE) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This systematic literature review investigates the contribution of design thinking (DT) as a process and tool to drive innovation in a sustainable built environment (SBE) and develops a new model for sustainability research integrating DT and future thinking approaches toward achieving a unified DT and foresight notion for future research and applications.
Design/methodology/approach
This review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Open-access English articles published between 2000 and 2022 identified using the EBSCOhost, Emerald Insight, DOJA, JSTOR, Scopus and Taylor and Francis database searches were reviewed. The review framework deploys a previously proposed modified Ansoff matrix with an integrated innovation matrix to identify and analyze the challenges and opportunities for innovation growth in SBE. Additionally, a citation analysis was conducted to explore the impact of DT for innovation in SBE, and a proposed framework based on design by drawing on foresight theory was developed.
Findings
Research on DT for innovation in SBE faces the challenge of unanticipated impacts. According to the average number of citations per document, innovation associated with new solutions within a new context seems to become highly influential. Additionally, research gaps exist in the integration of foresight and DT into sustainability research to identify new contexts and solutions to SBE. A model of foresight design thinking (FDT) is proposed to guide future research and support the practical application of DT in sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis was limited by the selection criteria as only certain keywords were used and English-only articles were selected. Future research should consider the use of DT for innovation in SBE using various important keywords, which would improve research findings and expand the contribution of DT to SBE.
Practical implications
The FDT model offers a new holistic framework for the iterative process of reframing and reperception, focusing on divergent and convergent thinking with the goal of contributing to SBE practices.
Social implications
The integrated framework of DT and foresight can contribute to the study and development of sustainable innovation and a strategic shift toward a sustainable society.
Originality/value
The integration of DT, foresight and sustainability can broaden the horizons of sustainability research by systematically addressing future challenges related to SBE, which can be translated into feasible and innovative solutions. Thus, the FDT model complements the application of DT in sustainable innovation in this research field.
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Selma Bahi and Mohamed Nabil Houhou
This study aims to investigate the behavior of different types of stone columns, including the short and floating columns, as well as the ordinary and the geosynthetic encased…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the behavior of different types of stone columns, including the short and floating columns, as well as the ordinary and the geosynthetic encased stone columns (OSC and GESC). The effectiveness of the geosynthetic encasement and the impact of the installation using the lateral expansion method on the column performance is evaluated through a three-dimensional (3D) unit cell numerical analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
A full 3D numerical analysis is carried out using the explicit finite element code PLAXIS 3D to examine the installation influence on settlement reduction (ß), lateral displacement (Ux) and vertical displacement (Uz) relative to different values of lateral expansion of the column (0% to 15%).
Findings
The findings demonstrate the superior performance of GESC, particularly short columns outperforming floating counterparts. This enhanced performance is attributed to the combined effects of geosynthetic encasement and increased lateral expansion. Notably, these strategies contribute significantly to decreasing lateral displacement (Ux) at the column’s edge and reducing vertical displacement (Uz) under the rigid footing.
Originality/value
In contrast to previous studies that examined the installation effect of OSC contexts, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the effect of geosynthetic encasement and the installation effects using the lateral expansion method in very soft soil, using 3D numerical simulation. The study emphasizes the significance of the consideration of geosynthetic encasement and lateral expansion of the column during the design process to enhance column performance.
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Marvelous Kadzima, Michael Machokoto and Edward Chamisa
This study empirically examines the nonlinear effects of mimicking peer firms' cash holdings on shareholder value, with consideration of macroeconomic conditions.
Abstract
Purpose
This study empirically examines the nonlinear effects of mimicking peer firms' cash holdings on shareholder value, with consideration of macroeconomic conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
An instrumental variable approach for nonlinear models is estimated for a large sample of US firms over the period 1991–2019. This approach addresses the reflection problem in examining peer effects, whereby it is impossible to separate the individual's effects on the group, or vice versa, if both are simultaneously determined.
Findings
The authors find an inverted U-shaped association between shareholder value and mimicking intensity of peer firms' cash holdings. This result suggests that mimicking peer firms' cash holdings is subject to diminishing returns. It is more beneficial at lower levels of mimicking intensity but less so or suboptimal at higher levels. Further evidence indicates that this inverted U-shaped shareholder value-mimicking intensity nexus is asymmetric. Specifically, it is salient for decreases relative to increases in cash holdings and, more importantly, in good relative to bad macroeconomic states. The findings are robust to several concerns and have important implications for liquidity management policies.
Originality/value
The authors provide new empirical evidence of the nonlinear effects of mimicking peer firms' cash holdings on shareholder value, which varies with macroeconomic conditions.
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Glory Dee Antero Romo, Jon Marx Paredes Sarmiento, Francis Levi Abdala Durano, Imee Marie Añabesa Acopiado, Thaddeus Retuerto Acuña, Adonis Maquinto Traje and Geraliza Degamo Wahing
This paper aims to determine pathways leading to enterprise profitability during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to determine pathways leading to enterprise profitability during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Design/methodology/approach
The study (N = 272) was participated by 228 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 44 large enterprises. Configurational analysis using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was used in modelling combinations of firm characteristics and organizational resilience attributes that could lead to enterprise profitability.
Findings
Using the Benchmark Resilience Tool of Resilient Organisations, the study showed that three main attributes of organizational resilience (leadership and culture, networks and relationships, and readiness to change) played significant roles in enterprise profitability. Other conditions of varying influence on profitability included costs, sales, number of employees and the number of years in operations of an enterprise. For MSMEs, profitability can be achieved if all resilience attributes are present, while for large enterprises, the absence of some resilience attributes can be compensated by other attributes such as low decline in sales, low employee reduction, and more years in operation.
Research limitations/implications
While the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts have been far-reaching, the MSMEs and large enterprises are more likely to be profitable if they have used the three organizational resilience attributes. Moreover, these attributes do not only improve firm profitability and the overall enterprise performance during the present pandemic but also prepare them for future shocks.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, modelling antecedents of enterprise profitability using configurational analysis is the first in the Philippines.
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Ana Filipa Duarte, Inês Lisboa and Pedro Carreira
This study aims to study the impact of earnings quality on firms’ financial performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to study the impact of earnings quality on firms’ financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
An unbalanced panel data of 237 small- and medium-sized Portuguese companies from the mold industry, using 2010–2018 yearly data was analyzed. While most studies focus only on earnings management when assessing earnings quality, in this study six proxies for earnings quality are used, namely, accruals quality (a proxy for earnings management), earnings persistence, earnings predictability, earnings smoothness, earnings timeliness and earnings conservatism. Moreover, two proxies of financial performance are considered, the return on assets and the economic value added. An econometric model was estimated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects specification to account for the individual firm-specific effects and ensure heteroscedasticity corrected estimates.
Findings
The results show that managers must be concerned with the quality of reported earnings, as it can affect positively firms’ financial performance, especially regarding accruals quality. Persistence, predictability, smoothness, timeliness and conservatism are shown not to exert significant influence on financial performance in the sample.
Research limitations/implications
This work contributes not only as a literature review on these thematic but also to firms’ managers and stakeholders, who have information that helps them select strategies that guarantee earnings quality and improve firms’ financial performance.
Originality/value
This study proposed an econometric model that studies the relationship between earnings quality (using several proxies for it) and financial performance that can be applied to all companies.
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Yeonsoo Kim, Shana Meganck and Iccha Basnyat
This study, informed by the Situational Crisis Communication Theory, aims to suggest two primary response strategies that can be used for effective internal crisis communication…
Abstract
Purpose
This study, informed by the Situational Crisis Communication Theory, aims to suggest two primary response strategies that can be used for effective internal crisis communication during a pandemic situation, such as COVID-19. The effect of base response strategies on employees' perceptions of communication quality, leadership and relational outcomes were investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey of full-time employees in the United States was conducted.
Findings
The findings showed that for an instructing information strategy, not all types of information were equally associated with positive employee responses in terms of perceived quality of internal communication related to the COVID-19 pandemic and transformational leadership. Specific information that employees need to know in order to safely perform daily tasks, such as organizational protocols and thorough preparation, seem to be the most needed and desired information. Adjusting information was positively associated with employee perceptions of internal communication quality and perceptions of CEO leadership. Employees' perceived quality of internal communication affected by the base crisis response strategies were positively correlated with perceptions of transformational leadership and relational outcomes (i.e. employee trust in the organization, employee perceptions of the organization's commitment to relationships with employees, employee support for organizational decision-making related to COVID-19).
Originality/value
This study presents important theoretical and practical insights through an interdisciplinary approach that applies the theoretical framework and relationship-oriented outcomes of public relations to public health crisis situations.
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Handan Kunkcu, Kerim Koc and Asli Pelin Gurgun
Work–family conflict is one of the most challenging stressors for construction industry professionals to cope with emotional problems. This study aims to propose a model linking…
Abstract
Purpose
Work–family conflict is one of the most challenging stressors for construction industry professionals to cope with emotional problems. This study aims to propose a model linking work–family conflict and high-quality relationships among project team members and explore mediating effects of life and job satisfactions.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical framework was established based on the spillover theory and social exchange theory. Data were obtained by a questionnaire survey conducted with 328 respondents working in construction projects. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test interrelationships among work–family conflict, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and high-quality relationship.
Findings
The results indicate that work–family conflict is negatively associated with both job and life satisfactions of construction professionals. In addition, there were direct and positive relationships between satisfaction domains and high-quality relationship capacity. The findings further support that job satisfaction plays a mediating role between work–family conflict and high-quality relationship among construction professionals, while life satisfaction does not mediate the relationship.
Originality/value
The effects of interrole conflicts on the context of satisfaction have been investigated previously; however, there is a lack of knowledge regarding its influence on high-quality relationship among project team members. This study extends the body of knowledge on high-quality relationships among project team members to understand how conflict and satisfaction factors influence interpersonal relationships in construction project management.
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Muni Kelly and Muni Kelly
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the gender of an audit engagement partner (EP) is associated with the quality of the EP’s audit output.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the gender of an audit engagement partner (EP) is associated with the quality of the EP’s audit output.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper defines a low-quality EP as an EP who leads the audit of at least one client firm that subsequently restates its financial statements, while a high-quality EP is an EP that is not associated with any restatement. Using a sample of 6,082 observations from 2016 to 2020, the study estimates a logistic regression of EP quality on EP gender and control variables.
Findings
The results show that female EPs are more likely to be high-quality EPs. With an odds ratio of 1.25, the results imply that female EPs are 1.25 times more likely to be associated with higher-quality audits compared to male EPs.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study imply that female EPs are more likely to perform high-quality audits, and it supports the assertion that EP gender plays a significant role in determining EP quality. Further studies may apply gender theory to investigate the behavior of female EPs.
Practical implications
The results show that female EPs are more likely to be high-quality EPs. With an odds ratio of 1.25, the results imply that female EPs are 1.25 times more likely to be associated with higher-quality audits compared to male EPs.
Originality/value
The results of this study should be of interest to stakeholders such as audit committees, regulators, investors and creditors, as they provide an indicator for assessing the quality of audits. Moreover, considering the EP’s important role in an audit, the current study extends the existing literature by providing evidence of a relationship between EP gender and EP quality.
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This study examines how the presence of labor unions affects a firm’s pay disparity between executives and employees and its financial statement comparability.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how the presence of labor unions affects a firm’s pay disparity between executives and employees and its financial statement comparability.
Design/methodology/approach
It uses firm-level labor union data in Korea and applies regression analyses to a sample of 1,776 firm-year observations from 2004 to 2008.
Findings
The authors find that unionized firms have a smaller pay disparity between executives and employees than non-unionized firms, suggesting that labor unions place pressure on the pay structure. Unionization also lowers financial statement comparability, which helps managers of unionized firms maintain information asymmetry. Further, this negative relationship between unionization and financial statement comparability is stronger in non-chaebol firms, implying that they are more motivated than chaebol firms to reduce their financial statement comparability in response to the presence of labor unions. In addition, the negative relationship between unionization and financial statement comparability is pronounced in profit-making firms, firms with less analyst following, firms with fewer foreign investors and firms in more competitive product markets.
Research limitations/implications
The finding that firms adjust comparability in response to labor unions interests regulators and policymakers, who emphasize the role of comparability in providing usefulness to information users.
Originality/value
The findings add to the existing literature on the effect of labor unions on firms' pay structures and accounting choices.
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Qi Yao, Hongjuan Tang, Yunqing Liu and Francis Boadu
Successful digital transformation involves all areas which bring new impacts and challenges to the leadership of the enterprise. From the perspective of organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful digital transformation involves all areas which bring new impacts and challenges to the leadership of the enterprise. From the perspective of organizational identification, the authors construct a theoretical model of digital leadership–digital strategic consensus–digital transformation and explore the different moderated mediation effects of diversity types.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper obtains data from 351 Chinese science and technology enterprises and uses regression analysis and bootstrap analysis to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The results demonstrate that digital leadership has a positive impact on digital transformation. Digital strategic consensus partially mediates the linkage between digital leadership and digital transformation. Disparity diversity and variety diversity positively moderate the mediating role of digital strategic consensus between digital leadership and digital transformation, respectively; and separation diversity negatively moderates the mediating role of digital strategic consensus between digital leadership and digital transformation.
Originality/value
The research innovatively measures digital leadership and digital transformation. It expands the application of leadership, strategic consensus, diversity and other related theories in a digital context and provides a decision-making basis for enterprises' digital transformation.
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