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Article
Publication date: 2 May 2024

Yanmin Zhao and James Ko

This study aims to explore vocational teachers' perceptions regarding workplace learning that align with students' training models and collaborative teaching involving specialised…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore vocational teachers' perceptions regarding workplace learning that align with students' training models and collaborative teaching involving specialised professionals within the context of industry-university collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted nine semi-structured interviews from three subject areas to better understand how vocational teachers’ work-based learning enhances their pedagogical practice in guiding students’ professional training. Thematic analysis was adopted to identify patterns that emerged from concepts and theories related to coding categories.

Findings

The authors identified three key components: vocational teachers’ workplace learning in connection with students’ training models, collaborative teaching with specialised professionals and teachers’ regular interactions with enterprises. The findings demonstrate that vocational teachers’ engagement in workplace learning pertaining to specific subjects provides a valuable avenue for enhancing curriculum design with collaboration with industry experts. This is key for supporting vocational students’ transitions into the workplace and ensuring their knowledge and skills are tailored to the industry-standard practice.

Research limitations/implications

The data are limited to the review of interviews from three vocational subject areas as the representative sector in the study. However, this research implies effective knowledge transfer between workplace settings and vocational institutions, and vocational teachers need to integrate work-based vocational knowledge and skills in a relevant and applicable way across diverse classroom settings.

Practical implications

Fostering collaborative partnerships with local industries and professionals can be a primary way to facilitate authentic learning experiences that are linked to a specific vocational field and bridge the gap between diverse classroom learning and real-world work scenarios.

Originality/value

This study combines contemporary workplace learning theories with the conceptual understanding of vocational teachers’ involvement with industry-specific practice. Connecting teachers’ knowledge to the industry extends the input and collaboration from professionals and field experts to the diverse vocational classrooms.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2024

Yu-Ping Chen, Margaret Shaffer, Janice R.W. Joplin and Richard Posthuma

Drawing on the challenge–hindrance stressor framework and the “too-much-of-a-good-thing” principle, this study examined the curvilinear effects of two emic social challenge…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the challenge–hindrance stressor framework and the “too-much-of-a-good-thing” principle, this study examined the curvilinear effects of two emic social challenge stressors (guanxi beliefs and participative decision-making (PDM)) and the moderating effect of an etic social hindrance stressor (perceived organizational politics) on Hong Kong and United States nurses’ job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative survey method was implemented, with the data provided by 355 Hong Kong nurses and 116 United States nurses. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the degree of measurement equivalence across Hong Kong and US nurses. The proposed model and the research questions were tested using nonlinear structural equation modeling analyses.

Findings

The results show that while guanxi beliefs only showed an inverted U-shaped relation on Hong Kong nurses’ job satisfaction, PDM had an inverted U-shaped relation with both Hong Kong and United States nurses’ job satisfaction. The authors also found that Hong Kong nurses experienced the highest job satisfaction when their guanxi beliefs and perceived organization politics were both high.

Research limitations/implications

The results add to the comprehension of the nuances of the often-held assumption of linearity in organizational sciences and support the speculation of social stressors-outcomes linkages.

Practical implications

Managers need to recognize that while the nurturing and development of effective relationships with employees via social interaction are important, managers also need to be aware that too much guanxi and PDM may lead employees to feel overwhelmed with expectations of reciprocity and reconciliation to such an extent that they suffer adverse outcomes and become dissatisfied with their jobs.

Originality/value

First, the authors found that influences of guanxi beliefs and PDM are not purely linear and that previous research may have neglected the curvilinear nature of their influences on job satisfaction. Second, the authors echo researchers’ call to consider an organization’s political context to fully understand employees’ attitudes and reactions toward social interactions at work. Third, the authors examine boundary conditions of curvilinear relationships to understand the delicate dynamics.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2023

Angela Kit Fong Ma and Yiming Chen

The purpose of this study is threefold. The first is to conduct a comprehensive examination of the various board attributes to corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is threefold. The first is to conduct a comprehensive examination of the various board attributes to corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in the Chinese technology industry. The second is to investigate the impact of ownership and board attributes on CSR. The third is to examine the moderating effect of media reporting on the relationship between CSR and company financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

All A-share listed Chinese companies during the years 2011–2019 with 1,573 firm-year observations have been investigated for this study. The data are analysed by CSR metrics in the form of environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores using an ordinary least squares regression analysis and fixed effect regression models.

Findings

The results of this longitudinal study reveal that; no matter whether the companies are state-own or non-state-own, there is a significant positive effect of board independence, monetary incentives, director’s age and board size on the CSR disclosure of the Chinese technology industry. Also, the results support the importance of CSR performance in promoting the corporate financial performance (CFP) of the technology sector. Specifically, media reporting has a positive impact on the CSR reporting of both state-own and non-state-own technological companies in China.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study based on the ESG metrics for analysing the CSR and firm performance relationship conducted in the unique setting of the state-own and non-state-own technological companies in China. The study is an attempt to fill the gap in the extant literature, which has a scarce number of studies focused on the influence of media reporting on the relationship between CSR performance and CFP. This paper not only updates the existing understanding of CSR performance by board attributes and company ownership but also explains the significance of media reporting in enhancing the CSR performance of the Chinese technology industry.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2024

Heesup Han, Seongseop (Sam) Kim, Tadesse Bekele Hailu, Amr Al-Ansi, Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro and Jinkyung Jenny Kim

This research paper aims to explore the concerns and determinants of travelers’ behavior toward ChatGPT in the hospitality and tourism context. It also examines the weight of risk…

Abstract

Purpose

This research paper aims to explore the concerns and determinants of travelers’ behavior toward ChatGPT in the hospitality and tourism context. It also examines the weight of risk factors versus that of motivation and innovation characteristics influencing travelers’ approach behaviors toward ChatGPT.

Design/methodology/approach

A cumulative prospect theory was used to determine travelers’ responses to ChatGPT. This study, using a fuzzy-set qualitative approach, explored risk, motivation and innovation factors as determinants of approach behaviors for ChatGPT.

Findings

Findings revealed that risk, motivation and innovation factors were the key triggers of approach behaviors for ChatGPT. An intricate combination effect of the perceived risk, motivation and innovation characteristics was found, and the necessary predictors were determined.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will expand our current knowledge and offer practical insights for the development of ChatGPT in the hospitality and tourism sector.

Originality/value

This study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the intricate interplay between the various factors that shape customer behavior in the context of technology adoption in hospitality and tourism studies.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2024

Behnam Soltani and Michael Tomlinson

This study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students’ everyday…

Abstract

Purpose

This study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students’ everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used narrative frames to collect data from 180 international students from China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal at a New Zealand tertiary institution. Narrative frames as a research tool in educational contexts are used to ellicit the experiences of individuals in the form of a story as participants reflect on their experience. The frames use sentence starters to draw responses from participants about their experiences (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008).

Findings

This study argues that, through a socialization process, international students develop identities that fit an ever-changing labour market. This process is catalysed by a higher education landscape that produces career-ready subjects capable of appropriating different social spaces that prepare students and graduates to enter the labour market. Further, it argues that graduate employability should be understood as a complex process through which students and graduates socialise themselves through negotiating the socioacademic spaces by (1) familiarising themselves with the dominant workspace norms, (2) positioning themselves as more career-ready individuals, and (3) imagigining employable selves capable of meeting the needs of the job market.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations. Only one data collection source has been used. It would have been great to use narrative frames along with interviews. In addition, the data would have been stronger if the researcher could have used classroom observations, which could be a future initiative.

Practical implications

This study could provide practical insights to tertiary institutions about international students’ developing capabilities and identities so they could better prepare themselves for the world of work. Further, this study provides insights about some of the challenges that international students face in tertiary contexts to become career-ready. Hence, educators could employ strategies to better support these learners in their everyday learning spaces. This study also has useful benefits for future and current international students and international graduates regarding what investments they need to make so they can better socialize themselves in their tertiary and workplace practices.

Social implications

This study has social implications. It helps international students better understand the social, cultural and academic expectations of their host countries. Therefore, they could better socialize themselves into those practices and contribute more effectively to their academic and workplace communities. The study also helps academic and workplace institutions strategize more effectively to address the social and cultural needs of international graduates. The study also contributes to the social and cultural understanding of the teachers that engage with international students on a daily basis by helping them devise activities that better address these students’ and graduates’ needs.

Originality/value

The study adds theoretical and methodological value to the debates around graduate employability. It includes the voices of 180 students and unravels their day-to-day experiences of capability building and employability development from their own perspectives.

Details

Education + Training, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Huiwen Shi and Lok Ming Eric Cheung

While most language departments of the university offer service-learning (SL) subjects based on language teaching, such as “Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in Local Schools”…

Abstract

Purpose

While most language departments of the university offer service-learning (SL) subjects based on language teaching, such as “Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in Local Schools” and “Serving the Community through Teaching English,” this paper aims to argue that teaching students to teach language(s) is yet to be the best strategy to serve the service recipients.

Design/methodology/approach

SL is widely understood as an experiential learning pedagogy that integrates academic focus, reflection and community service and is shown to be impactful. In Hong Kong, the first university that has made SL a graduation requirement is the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (the University). Considering this, new SL courses have proliferated over the past decade. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, this paper examines personal narratives from a new SL subject aiming to raise awareness of refugees in Hong Kong. The data includes students’ reflective journals, co-created personal narratives and podcasts and semi-structured interviews.

Findings

This paper finds that crafting and recording narratives of shared experiences deepens cultural understanding, cultivates empathy and facilitates language learning in a genuine setting.

Social implications

Ultimately, this paper advocates a well-designed SL that combines language, content and technology as a powerful, transformational experience for both college students and service recipients.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on a brand new SL course, “Storytelling for Understanding: Refugee Children in Hong Kong,” offered in Semester 1, 2022–2023. The subject was developed by the two authors from a language division affiliated to the University. The deliverables were podcast recordings, co-authored and co-edited by the students and the children.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 18 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2023

Qingjuan Wang, Ning Sun, Alice H.Y. Hon and Zheng Zhu

The purpose of this study is to explore the moderating effect of Confucian values and the mediating effect of relationship quality on the relationship between organizational…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the moderating effect of Confucian values and the mediating effect of relationship quality on the relationship between organizational justice and employee service orientation in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling was applied to a sample of 421 responses in a questionnaire survey from employees of tourism and hospitality firms in mainland China.

Findings

Employee relationship quality fully mediated the relationship between organizational justice and service orientation. Confucian values negatively moderated the direct effect of organizational justice on employee relationship quality and the indirect effect of organizational justice on service orientation.

Practical implications

This study offers insights for hospitality managers how to improve employee service orientation and establish Confucian values in the practice of organizational justice. Tourism and hospitality organizations should equally treat all employees as internal customers and use distinct strategies to manage employees with high and low Confucian values in employee selection and management of training and development.

Originality/value

This study highlights the contributions of organizational justice and relationship quality to employee service orientation. It also demonstrates that Confucian values explain why many Chinese employees are less sensitive to low fairness: these values negatively moderate the organizational justice–relationship quality–service orientation relations. By linking organizational justice to relationship quality and employee service orientation, the findings enrich our understanding of the applications of internal marketing and social exchange theories under Confucian values.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2024

Shifang Zhao and Shu Yu

In recent decades, emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have predominantly adopted a big step internationalization strategy to expand their business overseas. This…

Abstract

Purpose

In recent decades, emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have predominantly adopted a big step internationalization strategy to expand their business overseas. This study aims to examine the effect of big step internationalization on the speed of subsequent foreign direct investment (FDI) expansion for EMNEs. The authors also investigate the potential boundary conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the random effects generalized least squares (GLS) regression following a hierarchical approach to analyze the panel data set conducted by a sample of publicly listed Chinese firms from 2001 to 2012.

Findings

The findings indicate that implementing big step internationalization in the initial stages accelerates the speed of subsequent FDI expansion. Notably, the authors find that this effect is more pronounced for firms that opt for acquisitions as the entry mode in their first big step internationalization and possess a board of directors with strong political connections to their home country’s government. In contrast, the board of director’s international experience negatively moderates this effect.

Practical implications

This study provides insights into our scholarly and practical understanding of EMNEs’ big step internationalization and subsequent FDI expansion speed, which offers important implications for firms’ decision-makers and policymakers.

Originality/value

This study extends the internationalization theory, broadens the international business literature on the consequences of big step internationalization and deepens the theoretical and practical understanding of foreign expansion strategies in EMNEs.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2023

Hua Pang

By building and examining an integral model, the principal objectives of this research are to systematically explore how indirect and direct network externalities lead to user…

Abstract

Purpose

By building and examining an integral model, the principal objectives of this research are to systematically explore how indirect and direct network externalities lead to user loyalty toward WeChat through the mediating effect of perceived gratifications.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through an online survey of 688 young people in Mainland China. To empirically assess the conceptual model, zero-order correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were carried out utilizing web-based data.

Findings

Path analysis results demonstrate that indirect network externalities and direct network externalities exert a significant impact on users' hedonic gratifications and utilitarian gratifications. Moreover, the study discovers the significant mediating influences of utilitarian gratifications on the association between indirect network externalities and user loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretically, this article may extend the scope of diverse studies on the association between network externalities and perceived gratifications and offer fresh insights into how mobile social media could actually improve user loyalty through enhancing perceived values among younger generation. Practically, this research assists mobile social media practitioners in retaining users and gaining competitive advantages over rival applications.

Originality/value

Although the extraordinary growth of WeChat has successfully become the dominant media by which individuals develop interpersonal network and contact with others, the roles of perceived gratifications between network externalities and user loyalty toward WeChat have not yet been investigated in depth. These obtained outcomes not only enrich the existing literature regarding the relationship between network externalities and affective response, but also offer fresh insights to mobile social media designers, marketers and users.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 76 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Yingying Huang and Hongbiao Yin

Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, this paper reviews the studies on school leaders’ emotional labor. It seeks to provide a typology of how researchers inquire about…

Abstract

Purpose

Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, this paper reviews the studies on school leaders’ emotional labor. It seeks to provide a typology of how researchers inquire about school leaders’ emotional labor by focusing on different understandings, topics and characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a narrative review with 38 studies finally selected for analysis. Guided by Habermas’s three cognitive interests, all the studies were examined carefully and were found to fall into different clusters of understanding of school leaders’ emotional labor.

Findings

The review revealed three understandings of school leaders’ emotional labor, namely instrumental understanding, practical understanding and emancipatory understanding. The instrumental understanding treats school leaders’ emotional labor as a tool to effectively control the schools; the practical understanding regards emotional labor as a way to build and maintain relationships and as the process of meaning-making; the emancipatory understanding perceives emotional labor as a site for school leaders’ reflection and action for achieving a more just and self-determined leadership.

Originality/value

This review contributes to the growing literature on school leadership and emotional labor by providing a theory-guided typology and synthesis of the existing understanding of school leaders’ emotional labor, which lays a knowledge base and points out directions for future scholarly inquiries. It also provides practical suggestions for educational policy, school leaders’ practice and leadership training.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

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