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1 – 10 of 14Hussain Alshahrani and Diane Rasmussen Pennington
The purpose of this paper is to investigate sources of self-efficacy for researchers and the sources’ impact on the researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing. It is a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate sources of self-efficacy for researchers and the sources’ impact on the researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing. It is a continuation of a larger study (Alshahrani and Rasmussen Pennington, 2018).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distributed an online questionnaire to researchers at the University of Strathclyde (n=144) and analysed the responses using descriptive statistics.
Findings
Participants relied on personal mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and emotional arousal for social media use. These elements of self-efficacy mostly led them to use it effectively, with a few exceptions.
Research limitations/implications
The convenience sample utilised for this study, which included academic staff, researchers and PhD students at one university, is small and may not be entirely representative of the larger population.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the existing literature on social media and knowledge sharing. It can help researchers understand how they can develop their self-efficacy and its sources in order to enhance their online professional presence. Additionally, academic institutions can use these results to inform how they can best encourage and support their researchers in improving their professional social media use.
Originality/value
Researchers do rely on their self-efficacy and its sources to use social media for knowledge sharing. These results can help researchers and their institutions eliminate barriers and improve online engagement with colleagues, students, the public and other relevant research stakeholders.
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Hussain Alshahrani and Diane Rasmussen Pennington
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sources of self-efficacy that researchers rely on when using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these sources…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sources of self-efficacy that researchers rely on when using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these sources impact their use.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed 30 semi-structured interviews with researchers at a major Scottish university. The authors analysed the interview transcriptions using directed content analysis.
Findings
The researchers relied on the four sources of self-efficacy proposed by Bandura (1977) when using social media for knowledge sharing. These sources lead researchers to use social media effectively and frequently for sharing knowledge, although some may discourage its use.
Research limitations/implications
It extends the self-efficacy integrative theoretical framework of Bandura (1977) by presenting the relative amount of the influence of these sources for researchers to share their ideas, experiences, questions and research outputs on social media. While the participants included academic staff, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students, the majority were PhD students.
Practical implications
The findings can help universities understand how to promote productive use of social media. For example, academic staff who have high personal mastery experience could mentor those who do not.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to investigate the sources of self-efficacy that impact researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing.
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Hussain Alshahrani and Diane Pennington
This study aims to investigate the outcomes that researchers expect from using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these outcomes impact their use.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the outcomes that researchers expect from using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these outcomes impact their use.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with researchers at a major Scottish university. They analysed the interview transcripts using directed content analysis.
Findings
Researchers expect social and personal outcomes from the use of social media to share knowledge. Each type has positive and negative forms. The positive outcomes motivate researchers to use it, whereas negative outcomes prevent them from using it.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the integrative theoretical framework of outcome expectations within the social cognitive theory by exploring these outcomes and their relative amount of influence on sharing ideas, experiences, questions and research outputs on social media. While the participants included academic staff and postdoctoral researchers, the majority were PhD students.
Practical implications
The findings will help individual researchers and universities to use social media effectively in sharing ideas and promoting research through identifying the positive outcomes. Identifying the negative outcomes will help in using solutions to overcome them.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to investigate the outcome expectations that impact researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing.
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Aziz Madi, Abdelrahim Alsoussi and Omar M. Shubailat
This research aims to replicate the work of Oberholster et al. (2013) on expatriation motivation through a generalization and extension replication. Additionally, it aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to replicate the work of Oberholster et al. (2013) on expatriation motivation through a generalization and extension replication. Additionally, it aims to contribute to the Self-Initiated Expatriates (SIEs) literature by studying the Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs) of SIEs as proposed by the Self-Determination Theory (SDT).
Design/methodology/approach
This research used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) with covariate estimation to create five clusters based on survey data from 179 SIEs. Additionally, the replication procedure followed recommendations by Dau et al. (2022) to produce a constructive replication.
Findings
Besides validating clusters in the original study, one new cluster was found. Furthermore, identifying the BPNs of the clusters helped in understanding the mechanism that motivates them.
Research limitations/implications
By studying the BPNs as per the SDT, this research contributes to our understanding of the psychological factors that shape expatriates' motivations and experiences. This can inform the knowledge developed in the international mobility theories and the models related to SIEs' psychological well-being.
Practical implications
Building on the results of this research, organizations can tailor recruiting and retaining strategies to the specific BPNs of different SIEs groups. Organizations can motivate SIEs, enhance their job satisfaction and loyalty, predict their success, and support their psychological well-being.
Originality/value
A generalization and extension replication value lies in testing the validity and reliability of previous findings in new contexts. The originality in this research stems from its utilization of the BPNs from SDT to explain SIEs' motivation and evaluate their psychological well-being.
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Liisa Mäkelä, Vesa Suutari, Anni Rajala and Chris Brewster
This study explores whether expatriation type (assigned expatriates (AEs) versus self-initiated expatriates (SIEs)) is linked to job exhaustion via possible differences in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores whether expatriation type (assigned expatriates (AEs) versus self-initiated expatriates (SIEs)) is linked to job exhaustion via possible differences in required efforts for their jobs and the rewards they gain from them, and/or the balance between efforts and rewards. Adopting effort–reward imbalance (ERI) and job demands/resources (JD-R) theories, the authors study the possible role of ERI as a mediator between expatriation type and job exhaustion.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was carried out in co-operation with two Finnish trade unions, providing representative data from 484 assigned and SIEs. The authors test this study’s hypotheses through latent structural equation modelling, and the analysis was conducted with Stata 17.0 software.
Findings
The results show that ERI between them are correlated with the job exhaustion of expatriates in general and there are no direct links between expatriation type and job exhaustion. The required effort from AEs was higher than that from SIEs though no difference was found for rewards, and the match between effort demands and rewards is less favourable for AEs than SIEs. AEs experienced higher job exhaustion than SIEs because of the higher effort demands and greater imbalance between efforts and rewards.
Originality/value
The study examines the work well-being of two types of expatriates and explores the underlying mechanisms that may explain why they may differ from each other.
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Talat Islam, Iram Zahra, Saif Ur Rehman and Saqib Jamil
Innovation has become a necessity for the information technology (IT) sector, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how knowledge sharing…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation has become a necessity for the information technology (IT) sector, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how knowledge sharing affects employees’ innovative work behavior (IWB). Specifically, the study examined occupational self-efficacy (as mediating mechanism) and entrepreneurial leadership (as boundary condition) to encourage IWB.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used social media platforms to collect data from 270 employees working in the IT sector through “google forms” on convenience basis between March and August, 2021. The study applied structural equation modeling in two stages to examine the measurement model (for uni-dimensionality) and the structural model (for hypotheses testing).
Findings
The study noted that knowledge sharing positively affects employees’ IWB and occupational self-efficacy positively explains this association. In addition, employees’ perception of entrepreneurial leadership strengthens the association between knowledge sharing and IWB.
Research limitations/implications
The study collected data from a developing country during COVID-19 by using a cross-sectional design that may restrict causality. However, the findings suggest the management not only encourages knowledge sharing environment but also engages employees in various training that motivate them to experiment with new ideas and techniques.
Originality/value
This study extends the existing literature on knowledge sharing and IWB by exploring occupational self-efficacy as mediating mechanism and entrepreneurial leadership as a boundary condition.
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Mohammed Awad Alshahrani and Mohammad Asif Salam
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance (FP) through the mediating role of absorptive capacity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance (FP) through the mediating role of absorptive capacity (AC) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as an emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used a quantitative research design. Data was collected using a self-administered online questionnaire. The study was based on 366 samples from Saudi Arabian workers at SMEs. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS/AMOS 26.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights. It suggests the positively mediating role of AC in the relationship between EO and FP. The authors found a full positive mediating role of AC in the relationship between EO and FP in SMEs in the KSA.
Research limitations/implications
The study empirically confirms the role of EO through AC in enhancing a firm’s performance. Additionally, the research findings support SME owners and managers in increasing their firms’ performance by implementing AC dimensions (assimilation and acquisition) with existing entrepreneurial characteristics to boost and increase business and performance. Regardless of the implications, this paper has some limitations. For instance, this study was conducted only on SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to extend the study to other organization sizes or to extend the study to other industries.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of AC’s mediating role in EO’s impact on FP, extending the previous studies in the area. Moreover, this research investigates the study themes in a relatively new context, specifically SMEs in the KSA.
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Chris Brewster, Vesa Suutari and Marie-France Waxin
This paper aims: to undertake a systematic literature review on SIEs, examining twenty years of literature published between 2000 and 2020, focusing on the most-cited empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims: to undertake a systematic literature review on SIEs, examining twenty years of literature published between 2000 and 2020, focusing on the most-cited empirical work in the field; to analyse the topics covered by these studies; and to propose a research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a systematic literature review, identifying the 20 most-cited empirical articles through citation analysis during the period and, because citations accrue over time, the six most-cited empirical articles of the last three years. We then used content analysis to examine the main themes they address and identify the research gaps.
Findings
The most common themes addressed in the SIE literature are: analysis of the types and distinctions of SIEs, motivation to undertake self-initiated expatriation, SIEs' adjustment to the new country, and SIEs' careers and outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper provides a first opportunity to look back at 20 years of research into a relatively new topic, highlighting the main research themes and knowledge gaps, and setting directions for future research. The paper expands knowledge on SIEs, assisting SIE scholars and IHRM practitioners to develop a global, critical understanding of SIEs' issues, and hopefully energising future research in this field.
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Syed Faizan Hussain Zaidi, Valmira Osmanaj, Omar Ali and S.A.H. Zaidi
Due to the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities were forced to shift from the traditional learning practices to digital learning. Hence, the purpose of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities were forced to shift from the traditional learning practices to digital learning. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the factors that affect the university student's adoption of mobile technologies for mobile learning (m-learning) in their learning process.
Design/methodology/approach
Technology acceptance model (TAM) is incorporated to study the adoption of mobile learning by university students. Quantitative research technique is used as core research approach in this study. Structural equation modelling (SEM), which is a part of quantitative research method, was employed on the congregated data via a set of questionnaire from 268 University students. SEM is used to explore the relationships among the hypothesized constructs. SPSS and AMOS software were used for the analysis of data.
Findings
This study validated the updated TAM model and assessed the students' adoption of mobile technologies for m-learning during COVID-19. All the constructs of proposed model were found to be significant with more than 50% average variance extracted. It was found that two external constructs mobile system efficacy and mobile service efficacy appended in technology acceptance model show the direct positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use constructs. However, hypothesized relationships were found to be unsupported among perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Furthermore, perceived usefulness and ease of use during m-learning impact the students' usage attitude which consequently impact the students' adoption behaviour towards adoption of mobile technology.
Research limitations/implications
Six constructs were considered for this study; however, mobile information quality for mobile learning was not included which could affect students' adoption criteria. Additionally, this study is limited to a country where future study needs validation of propose constructs in different demographic settings.
Originality/value
No study allied to the students' adoption of mobile technology for m-learning has accomplished in the context of India during COVID-19. Furthermore, TAM model has been updated with regard to the students' adoption of mobile learning during COVID-19 in Indian higher education setting.
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Noelia Garcia-Buendia, José Moyano-Fuentes, Juan Manuel Maqueira and Lucía Avella
This study aims to analyze the lean supply chain management (LSCM) strategy's role as a mechanism to address technology uncertainty and provide organizations with competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the lean supply chain management (LSCM) strategy's role as a mechanism to address technology uncertainty and provide organizations with competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was conducted of 276 Spanish focal firms in industrial sectors that occupy an intermediate position in the supply chain to investigate the influence of technology uncertainty on LSCM implementation and the latter's effect on operational performance and competitiveness. A covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) was used to test three hypotheses.
Findings
Technological uncertainty encourages progress in the implementation of lean throughout the supply chain and so is a mechanism that not only brings stability to the focal company but also improves its performance and puts it in a better competitive position.
Practical implications
Managers are suggested to consider the strategic integration with supply chain partners and the establishment of long-term relationships based on trust and commitment advocated by LSCM to enhance organizations' capabilities and effectively and flexibly respond to technological changes.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the effects of environmental uncertainty on the supply chain. The past literature has focused on the behavior of individual firms to deal with uncertainty, but this work shifts the level of analysis to the supply chain. Therefore, the strategic change to deal with what is happening in the environment is now switched to the supply chain level.
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