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Article
Publication date: 31 December 2021

Rishabh Ranjan, P.N. Pandey and Ajit Paul

In this paper, the authors prove that the Douglas space of second kind with a generalised form of special (α, β)-metric F, is conformally invariant.

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, the authors prove that the Douglas space of second kind with a generalised form of special (α, β)-metric F, is conformally invariant.

Design/methodology/approach

For, the authors have used the notion of conformal transformation and Douglas space.

Findings

The authors found some results to show that the Douglas space of second kind with certain (α, β)-metrics such as Randers metric, first approximate Matsumoto metric along with some special (α, β)-metrics, is invariant under a conformal change.

Originality/value

The authors introduced Douglas space of second kind and established conditions under which it can be transformed to a Douglas space of second kind.

Details

Arab Journal of Mathematical Sciences, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1319-5166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Matthew D. Roberts, Matthew A. Douglas and Robert E. Overstreet

To investigate the influence of logistics and transportation workers’ perceptions of their management’s simultaneous safety and operations focus (or lack thereof) on related…

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the influence of logistics and transportation workers’ perceptions of their management’s simultaneous safety and operations focus (or lack thereof) on related worker safety and operational perceptions and behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This multi-method research consisted of two studies. Study 1 aimed to establish correlational relationships by evaluating the impact of individual-level worker perceptions of operationally focused routines (as a moderator) on the relationship between worker perceptions of safety-related routines and workers’ self-reported safety and in-role operational behaviors using a survey. Study 2 aimed to establish causal relationships by evaluating the same conceptual relationships in a behavioral-type experiment utilizing vehicle simulators. After receiving one of four pre-task briefings, participants completed a driving task scenario in a driving simulator.

Findings

In Study 1, the relationship between perceived safety focus and safety behavior/in-role operational behavior was strengthened at higher levels of perceived operations focus. In Study 2, participants who received the balanced pre-task briefing committed significantly fewer safety violations than the other 3 treatment groups. However, in-role driving deviations were not impacted as hypothesized.

Originality/value

This research is conducted at the individual (worker) level of analysis to capture the little-known perspectives of logistics and transportation workers and explore the influence of balanced safety and operational routines from a more micro perspective, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of how balanced routines might influence worker behavior when conducting dynamic tasks to ensure safe, effective outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Douglas Ramalho Queiroz Pacheco

This study aims to propose and numerically assess different ways of discretising a very weak formulation of the Poisson problem.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose and numerically assess different ways of discretising a very weak formulation of the Poisson problem.

Design/methodology/approach

We use integration by parts twice to shift smoothness requirements to the test functions, thereby allowing low-regularity data and solutions.

Findings

Various conforming discretisations are presented and tested, with numerical results indicating good accuracy and stability in different types of problems.

Originality/value

This is one of the first articles to propose and test concrete discretisations for very weak variational formulations in primal form. The numerical results, which include a problem based on real MRI data, indicate the potential of very weak finite element methods for tackling problems with low regularity.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Anh Tuyet Nguyen, Vu Hiep Hoang, Phuong Thao Le, Thi Thanh Huyen Nguyen and Thi Thanh Van Pham

This study addresses the empirical results of the spillover effect with export as the primary economic activity that enhances local businesses' total factor productivity (TFP). A…

Abstract

Purpose

This study addresses the empirical results of the spillover effect with export as the primary economic activity that enhances local businesses' total factor productivity (TFP). A learning mechanism is expected to be generated and used as the basis for the policy implication.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted the Cobb–Douglas function and multiple estimation approaches, including the generalized method of moments, the Olley–Pakes and the Levinsohn–Petrin estimation techniques. The findings were estimated based on the panel data of a Vietnamese local businesses survey conducted by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) from 2010 to 2019.

Findings

The results showed that the highest TFP belongs to the businesses in the Southeast region, the Mekong Delta region, the mining industry and the foreign-invested enterprises. The lowest impacted TFP are businesses in the Northwest region and agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors. In addition, the estimated results also show that the positive spillover effect on TFP is shown through forward and backward linkage. The negative spillover effect is expressed through the backward and horizontal channels.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers original empirical evidence on the learning mechanisms via which exports contribute to productivity improvement in a developing Asian economy, so making a valuable contribution to the existing academic literature in this domain. The findings of this research make a valuable contribution to the advancement of understanding on the many ways via which spillover effects manifest such as horizontal, forward, backward and supplied-backward linkage.

Practical implications

The study's findings indicate that it is advisable for governments to give priority to the development and improvement of forward and supply chain linkages between exporters and local suppliers. This approach is recommended in order to optimize the advantages derived from export spillovers. At the organizational level, it is imperative for enterprises to strengthen their technological and managerial skills in order to efficiently incorporate knowledge spillovers that originate from overseas partners and trade counterparts.

Originality/value

This study sheds new evidence on the export spillover effect on productivity in emerging economies, with Vietnam as the case study. The paper contributes to the research's originality by adopting novel methodological aspects to estimate local businesses' impact on total factor productivity.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0373

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2023

Nicholous M. Deal, Mark D. MacIsaac, Albert J. Mills and Jean Helms Mills

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the potential of the New Deal as a research context in management and organization studies and, in doing so, forward the role one of its…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the potential of the New Deal as a research context in management and organization studies and, in doing so, forward the role one of its chief architects, Harry Hopkins, played in managing the economic crisis. The exploration takes us to multiple layers that work together to form context around Hopkins including the Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration, and ultimately, the New Deal. By raising Harry Hopkins as an exemplar of historical-narrative exclusion, the authors can advance the understanding of his role in the New Deal and how his actions produced early insights about management (e.g. modern crisis management).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper experiments with the methodological assemblage of ANTi-History and microhistorical analysis that the authors call “ANTi-Microhistory” to examine the life narrative of Harry Hopkins, his early association with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and later, the New Deal. To accomplish this, the authors undertake a programme of archival research (e.g. the digital repository of The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum) and assess various materials (e.g. speeches, biographies and memoirs) from across multiple spaces.

Findings

The findings suggest Harry Hopkins to be a much more powerful actor in mobilizing New Deal policies and their effect on early management thought than what was previously accepted. In the process, the authors found that because of durable associations with Roosevelt, key policy architects of the same ilk as Harry Hopkins (e.g. Frances Perkins, Henry Wallace, Lewis Douglas, and others) and their contributions have been marginalized. This finding illustrates the significant potential of little-known historical figures and how they might shed new insight on the development of the field and management practice.

Originality/value

The aim is to demonstrate the potential of engaging historical research in management with the individual – Harry Hopkins – as a unit of analysis. By engaging historical research on the individual – be it well-known or obscure figures of the past – the authors are considering how they contribute to the understanding of phenomena (e.g. New Deal, Progressivism or Keynesian economics). The authors build on research that brings to focus forgotten people, communities and ideas in management studies but go further in advocating for space in the research to consider the scholarly potential of the individual.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2023

José Félix Yagüe, Ignacio Huitzil, Carlos Bobed and Fernando Bobillo

There is an increasing interest in the use of knowledge graphs to represent real-world knowledge and a common need to manage imprecise knowledge in many real-world applications…

Abstract

Purpose

There is an increasing interest in the use of knowledge graphs to represent real-world knowledge and a common need to manage imprecise knowledge in many real-world applications. This paper aims to study approaches to solve flexible queries over knowledge graphs.

Design/methodology/approach

By introducing fuzzy logic in the query answering process, the authors are able to obtain a novel algorithm to solve flexible queries over knowledge graphs. This approach is implemented in the FUzzy Knowledge Graphs system, a software tool with an intuitive user-graphical interface.

Findings

This approach makes it possible to reuse semantic web standards (RDF, SPARQL and OWL 2) and builds a fuzzy layer on top of them. The application to a use case shows that the system can aggregate information in different ways by selecting different fusion operators and adapting to different user needs.

Originality/value

This approach is more general than similar previous works in the literature and provides a specific way to represent the flexible restrictions (using fuzzy OWL 2 datatypes).

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 December 2023

Boon-Seng Tan

This paper aims to explore the construction of a valid and reliable measure for the competitiveness of cities that excludes the drivers of competitiveness from the index…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the construction of a valid and reliable measure for the competitiveness of cities that excludes the drivers of competitiveness from the index construction. Not incorporating these drivers in the index avoids the problem of assuming relative contributions (i.e. weights) of these drivers on competitiveness as a maintained hypothesis.

Design/methodology/approach

From the definition that competitiveness is the ability of a city to sustain prosperity, this study derives a model called the hedonic well-being index (HWI) in which prosperity is measured by using the consumption of goods and service including leisure. This study then uses secondary data sources to construct an exploratory HWI (assuming a Cobb Douglas functional form) and compare this index to three benchmarks, namely, income, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the World Happiness Report (WHR) index. This study also review the component expenditure of the index across geographical locations.

Findings

The HWI is better predicted by the WHR index (a subjective well-being index) than by the GDP per capita (a measure of output), owing to the inclusion of leisure and household production absent in per capita GDP. This study explored and found regional variations in the distribution of the expenditure components in the HWI.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of constructing an exploratory HWI to measure the competitiveness of cities using secondary data. The reliability of the index can be improved using primary data in future research. Separating the drivers from the definition of competitiveness allows testing of the contribution and interaction of these drivers on competitiveness.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 January 2024

Phela Townsend, Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi

This paper offers a new perspective on the potential motivation for the adoption of employee ownership based on market power. Employee ownership may be linked to market power…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper offers a new perspective on the potential motivation for the adoption of employee ownership based on market power. Employee ownership may be linked to market power, either through contributing to firm growth that leads to market power or through industry leaders adopting employee ownership as part of rent sharing or a broader consolidation of market position. Both employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) coverage and product market concentration (PMC) have been increasing in the past two decades, providing a good opportunity to see if and how these are related.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors predict ESOP adoption and termination using multilevel regressions based on 2002–2012 firm- and industry-level data from the Census Bureau, Compustat and Form 5500 pension datasets.

Findings

The authors find that the top four firms in concentrated industries are more likely to adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), while having an ESOP does not predict entering the top four, apart from firm-level predictors. Tests indicate the first result does not reflect simple rent sharing with employees but instead appears to reflect an effort by firms to consolidate market power through the attraction and retention (or “locking in”) of industry talent. Other positive predictors of ESOPs include company size, being in a high-wage industry and having a defined benefit (DB) pension.

Research limitations/implications

To better distinguish among hypotheses, it would be helpful to have firm-level data on managerial attitudes, strategies, networks and monopsony measures. Therefore, future research using such data would be highly useful and encouraged.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the potential usefulness of ESOPs in attracting and retaining talent and for the design of nuanced policy to encourage more broadly based sharing of economic rewards.

Originality/value

While prior research focuses on firm-level predictors of employee ownership, this study uses market concentration and other industry-level variables to predict the use of ESOPs. This study makes a unique contribution, broadening the current thinking on firm motives and environmental conditions predictive of firm ESOP adoption.

Details

Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-7641

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 August 2023

Jarrod Haar, Candice Harris and Barbara Myers

The purpose of this paper is to extend the study of work-life balance (WLB) by exploring the influence of WLB amongst older workers. Theoretically, this study suggests that the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the study of work-life balance (WLB) by exploring the influence of WLB amongst older workers. Theoretically, this study suggests that the psychological benefits of age on relationships between WLB and well-being might be stronger for those “younger” older workers than those working toward or beyond retirement age. This study tests a moderated mediation model whereby the effects of WLB on anxiety and depression (through job stress) are moderated by age.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 512 New Zealand employees in three older age cohorts (55–59 years, 60–64 and 65+ years).

Findings

This study finds that WLB reduces job stress and leads to lower anxiety and depression. Job stress positively influences anxiety and depression and partially mediates the influence of WLB. Significant interaction effects are found by age, with the lower age cohort (55–59 years) reporting the strongest benefits from WLB and this effect reduces as employees get older but remains significant.

Social implications

Even when focusing on older workers, the findings show younger older workers elicit stronger benefits from WLB toward well-being, although all age groups find WLB beneficial.

Originality/value

This paper offers novel insights into the question of whether the importance of WLB for well-being differs among older workers.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2023

Duc Hong Vo and Chi Minh Ho

Financial integration has played an essential role in achieving economic growth in the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, its effects on…

Abstract

Purpose

Financial integration has played an essential role in achieving economic growth in the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, its effects on economic growth in the region in the long run have been underexamined. This paper examines these effects for the ASEAN member countries.

Design/methodology/approach

A fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) estimation is used to take into account two critical econometric issues in panel data analysis, including (1) cross-sectional dependence and (2) slope heterogeneity. The dynamic ordinary least squares estimation is also used for robustness analysis. The authors use the generalized least squares estimation to examine the effects in the short run.

Findings

This study’s empirical results confirm the important role of financial integration to economic growth in the ASEAN countries in the short term. However, the effects appear to disappear in the long term. The authors also find capital, labor, and human development positively contribute to economic growth in the region. International trade plays a significant role in supporting economic growth in the ASEAN in the short run. However, its effect seems to weaken in the long run.

Originality/value

The growth effects of financial integration in the ASEAN region in the long term have largely been neglected. As such, the authors examine these effects using updated data on financial integration. The authors extend this study’s analysis by considering foreign direct investment and financial depth as the alternative proxies for financial integration. Other estimation technique is also used as the robustness check.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

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