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1 – 10 of 32Shahid N. Bhuian and Ibrahim M. Al‐Jabri
The authors explore turnover tendencies among expatriate employees in Saudi Arabia They: (1) discuss the novelty of expatriates in Saudi Arabia; (2) review the literature on…
Abstract
The authors explore turnover tendencies among expatriate employees in Saudi Arabia They: (1) discuss the novelty of expatriates in Saudi Arabia; (2) review the literature on employee turnover tendency and its correlates—job satisfaction and employee characteristics; (3) hypothesize a negative relationship between extrinsic job satisfaction and expatriate turnover tendencies, a negative relationship between general job satisfaction and expatriate turnover tendencies, no relationship between intrinsic job satisfaction and expatriate turnover tendencies, and no relationship between expatriate characteristics and expatriate turnover tendencies, and (4) empirically lest the hypotheses with a sample of expatriate employees. Results provide strong support for most of the hypotheses except “pay,” one of the extrinsic job satisfaction variables, and “job feedback,” one of the intrinsic job satisfaction variables.
Ibrahim M. Al-Jabri, Mustafa I. Eid and Amer Abed
Customer privacy and security are major concerns. Online firms worldwide collect customer data for various reasons. This study aims to investigate factors that motivate and hinder…
Abstract
Purpose
Customer privacy and security are major concerns. Online firms worldwide collect customer data for various reasons. This study aims to investigate factors that motivate and hinder a customer’s willingness to disclose personal information (WTD) to online firms on e-commerce websites.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an extensive literature review, three sets of factors have been identified. These sets of factors are privacy concern, perceived disclosure benefits and privacy assurances. It is hypothesized that privacy concerns negatively affect the disclosure of personal information, while the perceived benefits of disclosure have positive effects. Privacy assurances would positively affect information disclosure and attenuate the negative effect of privacy concerns on the disclosure of personal information. The authors gathered data from 253 online customers in Saudi Arabia.
Findings
The results indicate that perceived disclosure benefits and privacy concerns have a significant positive and negative relationship, respectively, with WTD online. Privacy assurances had neither a direct nor a moderating effect on information disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
The findings will inform online firms about the factors that prevent or motivate customers to disclose personal information.
Originality/value
The effect of privacy concerns and benefits on personal information disclosure are not fully understood in Saudi Arabia. This study reveals more insights into the specific factors that make online customers reluctant or motivated to disclose their personal information.
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Ibrahim M Al-Jabri, M. Sadiq Sohail and Nelson Oly Ndubisi
The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the determinants and usage of global technology services in Saudi Arabia. The technology under investigation is social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the determinants and usage of global technology services in Saudi Arabia. The technology under investigation is social network technology, Twitter.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon relevant extant literature, the paper proposes a research model, which examines the relationship between personal and social factors and usage of Twitter, as well as the moderating effects of gender and user experience. Data were collected online from 281 Saudi Twitter users, and the research model was empirically tested using standard procedures.
Findings
The findings support some of the proposed direct and moderating effects. For example, enjoyment, freedom of expression, and social interaction were found to influence Twitter usage. Gender as well as user experience has a moderating effect in the relationship between self-presentation and usage.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework contributes to global (technology) services management and marketing research by integrating personal and social factors, and demographics as direct and contingent factors in understanding user acceptance of social network technologies in the Arab region. Detailed discussions of the research, managerial and contextual implications conclude the paper.
Originality/value
The personal and social motives behind the use of social network sites in the Arab region particularly Saudi Arabia is ill understood due to a dearth of research on the region. This paper helps to bridge this research and knowledge gap.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of four important influencing factors on user satisfaction with an in-house developed ERP module in a large oil and gas…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of four important influencing factors on user satisfaction with an in-house developed ERP module in a large oil and gas company in Saudi Arabia. It explores whether communication campaigns, training, benefits, ease of use (EoU) are key antecedents of user satisfaction, and examine the mediating effects of EoU and benefits on satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a sample of 104 ERP users who were actively engaged in the ERP system implementation process. The partial least square method was used to test the research model. Baron and Kenny’s approach was used to test the mediating effects.
Findings
The proposed research model explained 62.7 percent of the variance in ERP user satisfaction. The results showed that EoU fully mediates the relationship between the training and communications and the benefits. Both EoU and benefits fully mediate the relationship between training and satisfaction and partially mediate the relationship between communications and satisfaction.
Practical implications
The findings of this study imply that training programs and communication campaigns should be designed in such a way that foster the EoU and convey and convince the ERP stakeholders about the benefits and values of ERP systems.
Originality/value
This study extends the understanding of salient factors affecting the ERP satisfaction in a different setting, namely in an oil & gas industry of a developing country. Although academic research of ERP satisfaction is abundant, this study contributes to the field by examining the mediating effects which rarely tackled in the extant research studies.
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Nik Thompson, Atif Ahmad and Sean Maynard
It is a widely held belief that users make a rational cost-benefit decision when choosing whether to disclose information online. Yet, in the privacy context, the evidence is far…
Abstract
Purpose
It is a widely held belief that users make a rational cost-benefit decision when choosing whether to disclose information online. Yet, in the privacy context, the evidence is far from conclusive suggesting that strong and as-yet unmeasured influences on behaviour may exist. This paper aims to demonstrate one such link – the effect of internet addiction on information disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 216 Web users was collected regarding their perceptions on privacy and information disclosure intentions as well as avoidance behaviour, an element of internet addiction. Using a research model based on the Privacy Calculus theory, structural equation modelling was applied to quantify the determinants of online disclosure under various conditions.
Findings
The authors show that not all aspects of privacy (a multi-dimensional construct) influence information disclosure. While concerns about data collection influence self-disclosure behaviour, the level of awareness about privacy does not. They next examine the impact of internet addiction on these relationships, finding that internet addiction weakens the influence of privacy concerns to the point of non-significance.
Originality/value
The authors highlight some of the influences of self-disclosure behaviour, showing that some but not all aspects of privacy are influential. They also demonstrate that there are powerful influences on user behaviour that have not been accounted for in prior work; internet addiction is one of these factors. This provides some of the first evidence of the potentially deleterious effect of internet addiction on the privacy calculus.
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The purpose of this paper is to draw a map of the general features of epistemological and critical concerns in contemporary Islamic philosophy. This study will not be confined to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw a map of the general features of epistemological and critical concerns in contemporary Islamic philosophy. This study will not be confined to the domain of academic philosophy or to those who are professionals in the field of philosophy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopted the critical rational approach in dealing with contemporary Islamic philosophy in the Arab world. The scope will include scholars from different fields of epistemology who tried to present a “vision” of the attitude that should be adopted in facing the challenges of the age and the problems of the nation on the epistemological level or the political, economic and social levels.
Findings
There is a need for a philosophy of action and progress rather than a philosophy that is based on abstract ideas and theories and of words/rhetoric. The ethics required to accomplish this ought to identify the attributes of the citizen who can reach self-actualization through legitimate means based on a progress agenda with theoretical and philosophical foundations.
Research limitations/implications
Because a critical rational approach can be dealt with from different perspectives, this paper will adopt the classification of the principal intellectual trends: the reformist, secular and liberal.
Practical implications
This paper covers a long time span to determine whether the philosophical projects have been effective.
Originality/value
This paper, which criticizes the philosophic projects that are theoretically unsound and that do not address real social problems (like poverty), argues the need for a philosophy of progress and action. This will lead to devising an agenda that addresses the challenges the society is facing and to finding alternative and creative solutions resulting in development.
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Muhammad Farooq, Imran Khan, Qadri Al Jabri and Muhammad Tahir Khan
The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of CSR as a mediator in the board diversity–FD relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examined six board diversity dimensions – age, gender, nationality, education and tenure in 81 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. The CSR engagement of the sample firms is evaluated using a multidimensional financial approach and the likelihood of FD is computed using Altman’s Z-score. The system-generalized method of moments estimator is used to meet the study objectives. In addition, several tests are run to determine the robustness of the study’s findings.
Findings
Based on the procedure for mediation analysis outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), the authors found that CSR is significantly inversely associated with the likelihood of FD. Second, board diversity variables age, gender and national diversity were positively associated with CSR. Third, board age, gender and national diversity are significantly inversely related to FD. Finally, it was found that there is partial mediation between board age diversity and FD, whereas full mediation is shown between board age diversity and FD and between board nationality diversity and FD.
Practical implications
This study provides practical insights into PSX’s board diversity for companies, regulators and policymakers.
Originality/value
This research studies the connection between board diversity and FD. In addition, the current study extended the analysis by testing for the first time the mediating role of CSR in the diversity–distress relationship, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.
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Nguyen Dong Phong, Nguyen Huu Khoi and Angelina Nhat-Hanh Le
Mobile shopping is the current trend for firms to conduct business, having great advantages over electronic shopping as well as traditional shopping. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile shopping is the current trend for firms to conduct business, having great advantages over electronic shopping as well as traditional shopping. The purpose of this paper is to discuss not only the driving forces of mobile shopping behaviors from the theory of reasoned action (TRA) perspective, but also the additional promotion and barrier sides of the mobile business.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation modeling approach with latent constructs is applied on a self-administered survey data of 208 Vietnamese consumers to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results of this study have proved the predictive power of TRA in exploring consumer behavior in the context of mobile shopping. Also, both promotion and barrier variables have significantly strong impacts on the intention to adopt mobile shopping.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies would benefit from investigating other variables (e.g. specific aspects of trust and risk) and using actual behavior (e.g. online purchases).
Practical implications
Business managers should pay attention to both promotion and barrier factors to understand how and why Vietnamese consumers adopt mobile shopping.
Originality/value
This pioneering study adapts the TRA model with extended promotion and barrier variables to explain mobile shopping in the context of Vietnam.
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Muhammad Farooq, Qadri Al-Jabri, Muhammad Tahir Khan, Muhamamad Akbar Ali Ansari and Rehan Bin Tariq
The present study aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure and firm-specific characteristics, i.e. firm size, leverage, growth…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure and firm-specific characteristics, i.e. firm size, leverage, growth opportunities, previous year dividend, firm risk, profitability, and liquidity on dividend behavior of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Final sample of the study consists of 140 PSX-listed firms. The study covers a period of six years, starting from 2015 to 2020. Dividend payout dummy, dividend payout ratio, and dividend yield were used to assess the dividend behavior of the sample firms. The appropriate regression procedures (logistic, probit, ordinary least square (OLS), and fixed effect regression) are used to test the study hypothesis. To check the robustness of the result, a system GMM estimation technique is also used in the present study.
Findings
The study reveals that institutional ownership, foreign ownership, and individual ownership have a significant positive whereas managerial ownership has a significant negative impact on the dividend decision of sample firms. Among firm-specific characteristics, it was found that liquidity, profitability, and the previous year's dividend were significantly positive, while growth opportunities were significantly inversely associated with dividend payout decisions of PSX-listed firms.
Practical implications
This study sheds light on the relationship between dividend policy, ownership structure, and firm-specific factors in the context of an emerging market like Pakistan. The study's findings have important implications for managers, minority shareholders, lawmakers, and investors looking for guidance on the dividend policy of publicly-traded non-financial firms.
Originality/value
The literature lacks studies that together analyze the ownership characteristics and firm-specific variables on dividend decisions, particularly in the context of developing economies. The current study aims to fill this gap.
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