Search results
1 – 10 of 38Dezhi Li, Huan Zhou, Shenghua Zhou, Guanying Huang, Xiaoming Ma, Yongheng Zhao, Wentao Wang and S. Thomas Ng
The study aims to pioneer an innovative approach for the evaluation of government portal websites (GPWs) by introducing an eye-tracking-based method. The research meticulously…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to pioneer an innovative approach for the evaluation of government portal websites (GPWs) by introducing an eye-tracking-based method. The research meticulously pinpoints and analyses the distinct usability issues and challenges that users encounter while navigating and interacting with GPWs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study devises an eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation approach, which focuses on the major functions (i.e. government information disclosure, government services and interactive responses) of GPWs. An Entropy Weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (EW-TOPSIS) method is employed to process eye-tracking indicator results for deriving GPW usability results.
Findings
The proposed approach is demonstrated to assess the usability of 12 GPWs in pilot smart cities in China, and it is found that most GPWs have lower-than-average usability. GPWs with low usability require more cognitive load that exhibit increased fixation and saccade. The comparisons among the GPW usability results from (1) the eye-tracking experiment, (2) questionnaire surveys and (3) the ready-made performance evaluation report validate the effectiveness of eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation.
Originality/value
The work contributes to shifting the GPW usability evaluation approach from a subjective judgment paradigm to an objective paradigm, as well as provides implications for enhancing GPW usability, including improving search function, reducing website complexity and prioritizing user needs.
Details
Keywords
Muhammad Haroon Shoukat, Islam Elgammal, Mukaram Ali Khan and Kareem M. Selem
Using the theoretical framework of social comparison theory (SCT), this study investigates the effects of employee envy on service sabotage behaviors in the hospitality industry…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the theoretical framework of social comparison theory (SCT), this study investigates the effects of employee envy on service sabotage behaviors in the hospitality industry. It further examines the complex dynamics of self-performance and job dissatisfaction in this context. Notably, this paper seeks to determine the potential moderating role of perceived employability in the interactions between service sabotage, employee envy, job dissatisfaction and self-performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Our research structure was divided into four distinct models. The findings of Model 1 highlight the significant impact of employee envy on service sabotage. The analysis in Model 2a shows that job dissatisfaction acts as a partial mediator in the employee envy and service sabotage linkage. On the other hand, Model 2b reveals self-performance as yet another partial mediator between envy-service sabotage relationships. In turn, Model 3 demonstrates that job dissatisfaction and self-performance play a serial mediation role in the envy-service sabotage relationship. In addition, our research shows that perceived employability effectively moderates the three proposed paths within these relationships.
Findings
Our research structure was divided into four distinct models. The findings of Model 1 highlight the significant impact of employee envy on service sabotage. The analysis in Model 2a shows that job dissatisfaction acts as a partial mediator in the employee envy and service sabotage linkage. On the other hand, Model 2b reveals self-performance as yet another partial mediator between envy-service sabotage relationships. In turn, Model 3 demonstrates that job dissatisfaction and self-performance play a serial mediation role in the envy-service sabotage relationship. In addition, our research shows that perceived employability effectively moderates the three proposed paths within these relationships.
Research limitations/implications
Hotel managers must keep a close eye on their front-of-house staff to avoid any unintentional or direct interactions with customers. Equally important is the consistent and impartial treatment of all employees, which is an important consideration for managers to consider because it can help mitigate employee envy and job dissatisfaction.
Originality/value
This study seeks to enhance understanding of SCT by emphasizing perceived employability as a boundary influencing the relationships between these factors and desired outcomes in the hotel industry, such as job dissatisfaction, self-performance and service sabotage. This paper is an initial attempt to investigate the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between envy and service sabotage.
Details
Keywords
Zijing Ye, Huan Li and Wenhong Wei
Path planning is an important part of UAV mission planning. The main purpose of this paper is to overcome the shortcomings of the standard particle swarm optimization (PSO) such…
Abstract
Purpose
Path planning is an important part of UAV mission planning. The main purpose of this paper is to overcome the shortcomings of the standard particle swarm optimization (PSO) such as easy to fall into the local optimum, so that the improved PSO applied to the UAV path planning can enable the UAV to plan a better quality path.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, the adaptation function is formulated by comprehensively considering the performance constraints of the flight target as well as the UAV itself. Secondly, the standard PSO is improved, and the improved particle swarm optimization with multi-strategy fusion (MFIPSO) is proposed. The method introduces class sigmoid inertia weight, adaptively adjusts the learning factors and at the same time incorporates K-means clustering ideas and introduces the Cauchy perturbation factor. Finally, MFIPSO is applied to UAV path planning.
Findings
Simulation experiments are conducted in simple and complex scenarios, respectively, and the quality of the path is measured by the fitness value and straight line rate, and the experimental results show that MFIPSO enables the UAV to plan a path with better quality.
Originality/value
Aiming at the standard PSO is prone to problems such as premature convergence, MFIPSO is proposed, which introduces class sigmoid inertia weight and adaptively adjusts the learning factor, balancing the global search ability and local convergence ability of the algorithm. The idea of K-means clustering algorithm is also incorporated to reduce the complexity of the algorithm while maintaining the diversity of particle swarm. In addition, the Cauchy perturbation is used to avoid the algorithm from falling into local optimum. Finally, the adaptability function is formulated by comprehensively considering the performance constraints of the flight target as well as the UAV itself, which improves the accuracy of the evaluation model.
Details
Keywords
Michael Yao Ping Peng, Zhidong Liang, Ishrat Fatima, Qian Wang and Muhammad Imran Rasheed
The purpose of this study is to examine job engagement and creativity of employees in the hospitality industry of Pakistan as outcomes of empowering leadership through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine job engagement and creativity of employees in the hospitality industry of Pakistan as outcomes of empowering leadership through the mediating role of creative self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic survey was conducted to collect data from 373 employees of food-chain restaurants in Pakistan. The data was analyzed by applying structural equation modeling (SEM) through Smart PLS 3.
Findings
Results indicated that empowering leadership has a positive association with job engagement and employee creativity in the hospitality industry. Further, creative self-efficacy has been found as mediating the relationship of empowering leadership with job engagement and employee creativity.
Originality/value
The study has substantial implications for the employees, managers and organizations of the hospitality industry as well as for the scholars of services industry research.
Details
Keywords
Leven J. Zheng, Nazrul Islam, Justin Zuopeng Zhang, Huan Wang and Kai Ming Alan Au
This study seeks to explore the intricate relationship among supply chain transparency, digitalization and idiosyncratic risk, with a specific focus on newly public firms. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to explore the intricate relationship among supply chain transparency, digitalization and idiosyncratic risk, with a specific focus on newly public firms. The objective is to determine whether supply chain transparency effectively mitigates idiosyncratic risk within this context and to understand the potential impact of digitalization on this dynamic interplay.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes data from Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on China’s Growth Enterprise Board (ChiNext) over the last five years, sourced from the CSMAR database and firms’ annual reports. The research covers the period from 2009 to 2021, observing each firm for five years post-IPO. The final sample comprises 2,645 observations from 529 firms. The analysis employs the Hausman test, considering the panel-data structure of the sample and favoring fixed effects over random effects. Additionally, it applies the high-dimensional fixed effects (HDFE) estimator to address unobserved heterogeneity.
Findings
The analysis initially uncovered an inverted U-shaped relationship between supply chain transparency and idiosyncratic risk, indicating a delicate equilibrium where detrimental effects diminish and beneficial effects accelerate with increased transparency. Moreover, this inverted U-shaped relationship was notably more pronounced in newly public firms with a heightened level of firm digitalization. This observation implies that firm digitalization amplifies the impact of transparency on a firm’s idiosyncratic risk.
Originality/value
This study distinguishes itself by providing distinctive insights into supply chain transparency and idiosyncratic risk. Initially, we introduce and substantiate an inverted U-shaped correlation between supply chain transparency and idiosyncratic risk, challenging the conventional linear perspective. Secondly, we pioneer the connection between supply chain transparency and idiosyncratic risk, especially for newly public firms, thereby enhancing comprehension of financial implications. Lastly, we pinpoint crucial digital conditions that influence the relationship between supply chain transparency and idiosyncratic risk management, offering a nuanced perspective on the role of technology in risk management.
Details
Keywords
Xinyuan (Roy) Zhao, Fujin Wang, Anna S. Mattila, Aliana Man Wai Leong, Zhenzhen Cui and Huan Yang
Customer misbehavior has a negative impact on frontline employees. However, the underlying mechanisms from customer misbehavior to employees’ negative outcomes need to be further…
Abstract
Purpose
Customer misbehavior has a negative impact on frontline employees. However, the underlying mechanisms from customer misbehavior to employees’ negative outcomes need to be further unfolded and examined. This study aims to propose that employees’ affective rumination and problem-solving pondering could be the explanatory processes of customer misbehavior influencing employee attitudes in which coworker support could be a moderator.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach was designed to test this study’s predictions. Study 1 conducted a scenario-based experiment among 215 full-time hospitality employees, and Study 2 used a two-wave, longitudinal survey of 305 participants.
Findings
The results demonstrate the impact of customer misbehavior on work–family conflict and withdrawal behaviors. The mediating role of affective rumination is supported and coworker support moderates the processes.
Practical implications
Customer misbehavior leads to negative outcomes among frontline employees both at work and family domains. Hotel managers should help frontline employees to cope with customer misbehavior by avoiding negative affective spillover and providing support properly.
Originality/value
The studies have unfolded the processes of affective rumination and problem-solving pondering through which customer misbehavior influences work–family conflict and withdrawal behaviors among frontline employees. The surprising findings that coworker support magnified the negative effects have also been discussed.
Details
Keywords
Samiha Siddiqui, Sujood, Naseem Bano and Sheeba Hamid
Ukraine hosts thousands of international students for educational tourism, of which more than 18,000 Indian medical students were compelled to escape Ukraine under emergency…
Abstract
Purpose
Ukraine hosts thousands of international students for educational tourism, of which more than 18,000 Indian medical students were compelled to escape Ukraine under emergency conditions of war. This paper aims to examine their intention to return to Ukraine to complete their education based on an integrated theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework with added constructs, i.e. risk perception, career anxiety, rescue and relief memory.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 26 February 2022 to 30 June 2022 in two phases and two modes. It was ensured that the respondents were strictly confined to Indian medical students who had travelled to Ukraine for educational tourism. SPSS 25 and AMOS 23.0 were used to analyse the data. The hypotheses proposed were statistically tested.
Findings
The analysis reveals that the extended TPB model resulted in a strong model and the empirical findings corroborate that the students’ attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and career anxiety significantly and positively influence the students’ revisit intention (RI) while risk perception and rescue and relief memory have a negative influence on the RI.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides timely insights and implications to the Ukrainian tourism industry, particularly educational tourism business and medical institutions under the present turmoil, which can also act as blueprint research for destinations with a similar unstable political background.
Originality/value
The primary value of this research work is that it provides an understanding of the intention of medical students (educational tourists) towards revisiting the war-hit destination of Ukraine.
Details
Keywords
Cong Thuan Le and Thi Kim Lan Phan
The principal objective of this current research is to explore and test an underlying mechanism to solve the inconsistent relationship between supervisors’ developmental feedback…
Abstract
Purpose
The principal objective of this current research is to explore and test an underlying mechanism to solve the inconsistent relationship between supervisors’ developmental feedback and employee creativity. This study also tests the moderating role of absorptive capacity in fully understanding the relationship between two constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
A time-lagged survey was utilized to collect data from 317 employees working at information technology (IT) organizations in Vietnam. This research conducted a hierarchical regression analysis to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
This research found that employees’ operational skills fully mediated the link between supervisors’ developmental feedback and employees’ creative performance. Moreover, absorptive capacity positively moderated the relationship between supervisors’ developmental feedback and employees’ operational skills as well as the relationship between employees’ operational skills and employee creativity.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first papers to discuss the mediating role of employees’ operational skills in associating supervisors’ developmental feedback with employee creativity in response to the calls of previous studies. To fully comprehend the indirect impact of supervisors' developmental feedback on workers' creative performance, this research also examines the moderating influence of absorptive capacity at the individual level.
Details
Keywords
Xinhua Guan, Zhenxing Nie, Catheryn Khoo, Wentao Zhou and Yaoqi Li
This study aims to explore the connection between travel content consumption in social networks and social comparison, envy as well as travel intention. It analyzes whether…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the connection between travel content consumption in social networks and social comparison, envy as well as travel intention. It analyzes whether tourists’ travel intention is affected by travel content consumption in social networks, and more importantly, whether social comparison and envy play a mediating role in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected through intercept in four popular tourist spots in Guangzhou and Zhuhai in South China. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A total of 400 participants were recruited, and 291 valid questionnaires were obtained. Bias-corrected nonparametric percentile bootstrap mediation variable test method was used to test hypotheses.
Findings
The study yielded three results. First, travel content consumption in the social networks positively influences travel intention. Second, travel content consumption in social networks indirectly affects travel intention through social comparison and envy. Third, the control variables, such as gender, age, education and income, mainly affect envy.
Originality/value
This study constructs a theoretical framework of stimulus–cognitive appraisal–emotion–behavioral responses. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to reveal that the internal psychological mechanism of travel content consumption affects travel intention. It also discloses that envy of seemingly negative emotions can encourage positive behaviors in certain situations.
Details
Keywords
- Social networks
- Content consumption
- Social comparison
- Envy
- Travel intention
- Cognitive appraisal theory of emotion
- Redes sociales
- consumo de contenido
- comparación social
- envidia
- intención de viaje
- teoría de evaluación cognitiva emocional
- 社交网络
- 内容消费
- 社会比较
- 嫉妒
- 旅游意向
- 情感认知评价理论
- Redes sociales
- Consumo de contenido
- Comparación social
- Envidia
- Intención de viaje
- Teoría de evaluación cognitiva emocional
Felix Simon Rudolf Becker, Kevin Escoz Barragan, Daria Huge sive Huwe, Beatrice Shenara Ernst and Giuseppe Strina
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, this study aims to explore which specific personality traits contribute to the innovativeness of startups, with a particular emphasis on…
Abstract
Purpose
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, this study aims to explore which specific personality traits contribute to the innovativeness of startups, with a particular emphasis on understanding how technology adoption mediates this relationship. By doing so, the authors strive to unveil the nuanced dynamics of personality, technology adoption and startup innovativeness in the digital era.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a quantitative empirical analysis using a sample of 1,314 German startups. This study utilizes a mediation analysis to examine the effects of personality traits on the innovativeness of startups, taking technology adoption as a mediator into account.
Findings
The empirical results show certain personality traits have direct effects on innovativeness. Also, the results show that technology adoption is a driver of startup innovativeness. In addition, these traits are (partially) mediated by technology adoption.
Research limitations/implications
The results shed new light on the interplay of entrepreneurs' personality and technology adoption in relation to startup innovativeness and therefore underline the importance of technology in this triangular relationship. The authors employ secondary data from startups in Germany, which complicates generalization of the results to other geographical and cultural contexts.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the scientific debate on the role of personality traits in entrepreneurship by providing empirical evidence on the mediating effect of technology adoption in the relationship between personality traits and startup innovativeness. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers interested in understanding and promoting innovativeness in the context of startups.
Details