Search results

This study aims to investigate how indigenous socio-cultural (ISC) practices within informal networks, such as guanxi and wasta, provide benefits beyond mere access. Specifically, the authors explore their global impact on B2B relationships, focusing on reciprocity. A multiregional sample extends research on ISC practices in B2B relationships by examining contingency effects of informal network ties.

The authors surveyed 404 buyers in two developed (Hong Kong and Portugal) and two emerging economies (Kuwait and Colombia), and also categorized by strong and weak informal network ties. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examined a relationship marketing (RM) model from a typology (Clubs, Sociocracies, Clans and Compadres) for assessing contingency effects.

The study reveals that in developed economies with strong formal institutions, negative aspects of favor reciprocity norms intensify unless informal networks are driven by strict sociomoral obligations. This supports research indicating that contractual governance competes rather than complements relational governance. Moreover, trust-building processes are crucial in regions with low uncertainty tolerance to mitigate adverse effects.

Suppliers from developed nations need more than cultural communication insights when engaging in business in emerging markets. We acknowledge changes buyers may expect adherence to reciprocity rules embedded in the ISC practices of their informal networks.

This study pioneers a typology of social structures to analyze ISC practices across buyers with varying formal institutional strength and informal network ties. It sheds light on institutional dynamics, trust-building processes, and nuances surrounding both positive and negative aspects of reciprocity practices. Furthermore, it broadens the scope of RM to Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

This study aims to explore how sustainability drivers interact with national culture to explain the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental sustainability practices.

Drawing on Institutional Theory, this study proposes three sets of hypotheses focused on the role of key cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power distance and institutional collectivism. It uses a sample of 284 manufacturing plants across three industries and 14 countries to test these hypotheses, using regression analysis.

Findings suggest that national culture matters in the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental practices; however, its effect is contingent upon the particular combination of cultural dimensions and drivers analyzed.

This study enhances the understanding of the drivers behind buyer–supplier environmental practices by offering a novel examination of their interaction with national culture. This helps explain the heterogeneity in environmental sustainability adoption across countries.

This paper aims to explore the impact of live streamer authenticity (LSA) on purchase intention in tourism e-commerce live streaming, with a focus on boundary conditions and underlying mechanisms.

The data collected from 451 participants were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

This paper found that four dimensions of LSA – sincerity, truthfulness endorsement, expertise and uniqueness – positively influenced purchase intention, while visibility did not. In addition, sincerity, truthfulness endorsement and uniqueness had an indirect influence on purchase intention through flow experience, while sincerity, truthfulness endorsement, expertise and uniqueness had an indirect effect through perceived trust. Furthermore, self-construal moderated the effect of sincerity and truthfulness endorsement on purchase intention, with the positive effect being stronger for the dependent self-construal.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to examine LSA dimensions and their consequences. This paper not only provides a better and more detailed understanding of the complexity of LSA but also contributes to the development of authenticity theory by responding to individual authenticity studies.

本文旨在研究旅游直播电商中主播真实性对旅游购买意向的影响, 及其内在机制和边界条件。

本文采用问卷调查的方法收集451名参与者的数据。然后用结构方程模型（SEM）对收集的数据进行分析。

本文发现, 主播真实性的四个维度–真诚性、真实背书、专业性和独特性–对购买意愿有积极影响, 而主播的透明性没有影响。此外, 真诚性、真实背书和独特性通过心流体验对购买意愿产生间接影响, 此外真诚性、真实背书、专业性和独特性还通过感知信任产生间接影响。此外, 自我建构调节了真诚性和真实背书对购买意向的影响。对于依赖型自我建构, 真诚性和真实背书对购买意愿的影响更强。

本文是最早探讨主播真实性维度及其后果影响的研究之一。本文不仅对主播真实性的复杂性有了更好更详细的了解, 而且响应了对个体真实性研究的呼吁, 为真实性理论的发展做出了贡献。

Este artículo explora el impacto de la autenticidad del streamer en la intención de compra en la retransmisión en directo de comercio electrónico turístico, centrándose en las limitaciones y los procesos subyacentes.

Se analizaron los datos recopilados de 451 participantes utilizando un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM).

Este trabajo halló que cuatro dimensiones de la autenticidad de los streamers en directo -la sinceridad, el respaldo a la veracidad, la pericia y la singularidad- influían positivamente en la intención de compra, mientras que la visibilidad no lo hacía. Además, la sinceridad, el respaldo de veracidad y la singularidad influyeron indirectamente en la intención de compra a través de la experiencia de flujo, mientras que la sinceridad, el respaldo de veracidad, la pericia y la singularidad tuvieron un efecto indirecto a través de la confianza percibida. Además, la autoconstrucción moderó el efecto de la sinceridad y el respaldo de veracidad sobre la intención de compra, siendo el efecto positivo más fuerte para la autoconstrucción dependiente.

Es el primer estudio que examina las dimensiones de la autenticidad de los retransmisores en directo y sus consecuencias. Este trabajo no sólo proporciona una comprensión mejor y más detallada de la complejidad de la autenticidad de los streamers en directo, sino que también contribuye al desarrollo de la teoría de la autenticidad al responder a los estudios sobre autenticidad individual.

Considering the construction industry’s vital role in economic development and social consequences, this study seeks to pinpoint critical barriers hindering Turkey’s sustainable construction (SC). Although several studies highlighted the barriers to SC worldwide, none identified the critical factors. By identifying and understanding these barriers, the research aims to comprehensively understand practices and formulate strategic recommendations to promote sustainable construction.

A systematic approach is adopted to achieve the research objectives. The study involves identifying potential barriers to SC with a systematic literature review. A questionnaire was organized and distributed via e-mail to architects, civil engineers, and contractors. The criticality of identified barriers was determined with normalized mean value analysis, and critical barrier factors (CBFs) to SC were isolated with exploratory factor analysis. Finally, the effect size of these factors was quantified through structural equation modeling.

This study identified 32 critical barriers hindering the SC in the Turkish construction industry among 49 barriers. Furthermore, this study revealed six CBFs to SC that are “inadequate supervision and control of SC,” “fear of transition to sustainable construction and disruptions in adoption,” “lack of educational opportunities,” “return on investment and financial bias,” “awareness and knowledge gap about SC,” and “lack of demand from stakeholders.” Among them, “awareness and knowledge gap about SC,” “fear of transition to SC,” “lack of educational opportunities,” “lack of demand from stakeholders,” and “inadequate supervision and control of SC” were determined as the very highly crucial CBFs hindering SC.

Although some studies have identified the barriers to SC qualitatively and quantitatively, studies have yet to provide insights into the critical barrier factors hindering SC. Therefore, this study comprehensively and quantitatively determines the relevant CBFs to SC using exploratory factor analysis and utilizes confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to present a structural model of how critical factors affect the SC.

Under the circumstances of the accelerated technological advance and the overlapping of various global crises in the recent years, one of the main strategic priorities of the European Union in medium and long terms consists of building resilient regional and local communities which implies the aim to protect citizens against the impact of climate changes. Considering the essential role of the human capital in this endeavor, this chapter aims to investigate the relationship between human resources and economic development focusing a SWOT analysis in the case of Romania taking into account recent developments and trends of the European and global labor market related to various aspects induced by the green transition. The analysis of the structural demo-economic characteristics of Romania’s population revealed a decline of the total population, against the background of negative demographic and net migration, the increase in the average and median age of the total population, the rise in demographic and economic dependency ratios representing serious challenges for the development strategy on short, medium and long terms. To these, increasing quantitative and qualitative shortages in the labor market are added, which complicate the advancement of the green transition in Romania. In the conclusions of this chapter, strategic milestones on policies and measures in the short, medium and long terms at macroeconomic and labor market levels are proposed.

This study aims to investigate the linkage of employee treatment and trade credit for a sample of 45 countries from 2003 to 2018. It explores the trade credit from a receivable perspective.

The estimations are performed using panel regression with fixed effects for both country and year. A batter of robustness tests is also performed to validate the findings.

The results reveal a positive and highly significant relation between employee treatment and trade credit. The authors observe that firms from labor-intensive and highly competitive industries are likelier to extend trade credit to their customers. The authors also find that firms from developed countries are more likely to extend trade credit to their customers.

First, to boost trade credit, the firms need to materialize fair employee treatment. Second, firms from labor-intensive firms and highly competitive industries need to care more about employee treatment which promotes trade credit.

The findings offer novel evidence of the relationship between employee treatment and trade receivables.

Wasta, the prevailing form of informal networks in the Arab region, exerts a significant controversial influence on organisations in this region. Despite the pervasive negative perceptions and alleged detrimental effects of Wasta, it remains a frequently employed practice. This research aims to comprehensively explore the influence of Wasta on organisational justice across organisations in the Arab world, with Jordanian organisations taken as an illustrative case.

Employing a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 employees from various industries in Jordan.

The study reveals that Wasta significantly affects distributive, procedural and interactional justice within organisations, eliciting feelings of unfairness and hopelessness among employees.

This study recommends that HR departments focus on implementing ethical policies and standards to enhance transparency in organisational decision-making processes. By understanding and addressing the implications of Wasta, organisations can foster a more just and equitable workplace environment.

This study advances our understanding of informal network theories in the Arab world by highlighting the interconnectedness between Wasta and organisational justice, and its profound impact on the work environment and employees. This study also explains how Wasta directly influences decision-making processes, at high managerial levels.

This study has two main objectives. First, to examine the indirect effects of digital platform capability and digital resilience on digital transformation (DT) outcomes for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and second, to investigate how digital business model maturity influences these indirect effects.

The study adopts a quantitative design and collects data through a self-reporting survey from individuals in the technological industries. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and PLS multi-group analysis examine the measurement and structural models and the significance of differences in indirect paths based on the digital business model maturity level, serving as a moderator.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the internationalisation of digital SMEs. They indicate that digital platform capability and resilience fully mediate, connecting digital resources to SME growth. The study also confirms the digital business model maturity’s positive and significant moderating effect on these indirect relationships.

This research contributes to the existing literature by focusing on the international outcomes of platform ecosystems in developing markets. It explores how digital platform capability and resilience support the digital transformation of SMEs, considering their vulnerability due to their small size. The study also fills a research gap by investigating the relationship between big data, digital leadership and the international growth of digital platforms. Lastly, it explores the role of digital maturity in the relationships between antecedents, determinants and outcomes of digitalisation.

Technological innovations provide huge opportunities to expand and revolutionize the scope of products and services offered. This is particularly true for tourism, which is undergoing significant changes due to the development of new technologies. The level of technology diffusion depends on several factors like the exchange of information among peers, and the attitude and shared perception among the contributors. The aim of the study is to explore the diffusion of technology in tourism with a specific focus on the social media discourse around new technologies. Thus, the paper investigates the level of interest in these new technologies analysing the information exchange occurring between individuals on Twitter in order to explore the influence of reciprocal networking.

To capture the attitudes expressed in the industry, the study analyses the ongoing discourse on Twitter as a proxy for the participants “interest in new technologies. Through a social network analysis of the tweets and retweets conducted over a period of nine months, the research maps the level of information exchange about the diffusion of new technologies. Moreover, the sentiment analysis provides an interesting overview of the individuals” attitudes towards the awareness or the adoption of new technologies.

Our analysis has provided several insights: (1) the information network on blockchain in tourism consists of participants who change very quickly over time (high turnover of accounts); (2) some contributors have an extremely important role in influencing the flow of information in the system (information centralization), they can have a generalist (discussing several topics) or a specialist (focusing on a specific topic) behaviour and this strategic choice influences their network's structure; (3) these central nodes also have an impact on the definition of positive and negative sentiment towards a topic (sentiment influencer).

The paper contributes to the literature on technology diffusion, by focusing on one of the preconditions of diffusion that is the shared positive attitude towards technological innovation. More specifically, we adopt a network-based approach, which is useful to explain the level of information exchange and the public discourse that can impact the shared perception and attitude towards technological innovation. The study also highlights the role of knowledge brokers in influencing this public discourse. Future studies can deepen the association between positive perception, higher levels of information exchange and increasing usage of specific technologies. Our results also suggest further exploring the opportunity to combine social media data and other sources of information to shed more light on the technological innovation diffusion processes.

This paper shows how practitioners can benefit from the analysis of information exchange about new technologies in tourism adopting a network perspective with the aim of understanding the level of influence among contributors. Moreover, the increasing interest in blockchain technology and the potential combination between social media data and other sources of information can offer promising insights.

The present study explores the level of technology diffusion through the analysis of information exchange on social media (Twitter). Furthermore, the dynamics of individual user behaviour offers a better understanding about media effects.

While previous research is focused on the users' perception towards the development of new technologies in tourism, the aim of this study is to investigate the dynamics behind the level of diffusion of information and awareness about these new technologies, which still represents an unexplored area of research.