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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2023

Areej Alyami, David Sammon, Karen Neville and Carolanne Mahony

Cyber security has never been more important than it is today in an ever more connected and pervasive digital world. However, frequently reported shortages of suitably skilled and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Cyber security has never been more important than it is today in an ever more connected and pervasive digital world. However, frequently reported shortages of suitably skilled and trained information system (IS)/cyber security professionals elevate the importance of delivering effective Security Education,Training and Awareness (SETA) programmes within organisations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the questionable effectiveness of SETA programmes at changing employee behaviour and an absence of empirical studies on the critical success factors (CSFs) for SETA programme effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study follows a three-stage research design to give voice to practitioners with SETA programme expertise. Data is gathered in Stage 1 using semi-structured interviews with 20 key informants (the emergence of the CSFs), in Stage 2 from 65 respondents to a short online survey (the ranking of the CSFs) and in Stage 3 using semi-structured interviews with nine IS/cyber security practitioners (the emergence of the guiding principles). Using a multi-stage research design allows the authors to propose and evaluate the 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness.

Findings

This study conducted a mean score analysis to evaluate the level of importance of each CSF within two independent groups of IS/cyber security professionals. This multi-stage analysis produces a ranked list of 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness, while the difference in the rankings leads to the emergence of five CSF-specific guiding principles (to increase the likelihood of delivering an effective SETA programme within an organisational context). This analysis also reveals that most of the contradictions/differences in CSF rankings between IS/cyber security practitioners are linked to the design phase of the SETA programme life cycle. While two CSFs, “maintain quarterly evaluation of employee performance” (CSF-DS6) and “build security awareness campaigns” (CSF-EV1), represent the most significant contradiction in this study.

Originality/value

The 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness, along with the five CSF-specific guiding principles, provide a greater depth of knowledge contributing to both theory and practice and lays the foundation for future studies. Therefore, the outputs of this study provide valuable insights on the areas that practice needs to get right to deliver effective SETA programmes.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2022

Minhajul Islam Ukil

This study aims to investigate how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during the entrepreneurial intention stage in a developing country such as Bangladesh, where doing business has…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during the entrepreneurial intention stage in a developing country such as Bangladesh, where doing business has long been a challenge, and examine how individuals manage their entrepreneurial anxiety. Indeed, understanding how anxiety is formed when individuals decide to start a business has been a challenge, because such a decision is influenced by both individual and contextual factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies thematic analysis to examine how individuals experience and react to entrepreneurial anxiety in a developing country context when they make a decision to start a business using data from 30 in-depth semistructured interviews with 20 aspiring and 10 active entrepreneurs. All participants are Bangladeshi nationals.

Findings

Consistent with earlier studies, the findings of this study revealed that entrepreneurial anxiety is regarded as a type of distress, doubt, fear, uneasiness and worry. Moreover, 11 distinct sources of entrepreneurial anxiety were identified, suggesting that some individuals develop problem-focused coping strategies to stay firm on their decision to start a business as planned, whereas others procrastinate.

Research limitations/implications

The findings add new dimensions to the theory of entrepreneurial anxiety and offer practical implications for aspiring entrepreneurs, policymakers, parents and society as a whole.

Originality/value

This study contributes to an underexplored area of emotion in entrepreneurship by conceptualizing how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during a specific stage of the entrepreneurial process, that is, entrepreneurial intention.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 August 2023

Samuel Wayne Appleton and Diane Holt

Digitalisation is perceived as a new process that may add value to firms. Current theoretical understanding assumes it should be part of a firm's strategy to respond to multiple…

Abstract

Purpose

Digitalisation is perceived as a new process that may add value to firms. Current theoretical understanding assumes it should be part of a firm's strategy to respond to multiple pressures in the business environment. This paper explores the occurrence of digitalisation in a rare context, that of the English agricultural industry in the United Kingdom, a place disproportionality filled with family firms. The general understanding of digitalisation in family firm settings remains embryonic. The authors' explorations make theoretical contributions to research at the intersection of rural entrepreneurship, family business and innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilising a purposive, qualitative approach, primary data was collected from multiple interviews with 28 UK family farms, and secondary data from another 164. Interview transcripts were coded using NVivo, along with secondary data from reports, observations and websites.

Findings

The authors present empirical evidence illustrating how digitalisation manifests incrementally and radically in different types of family farms. The authors present a model that shows the areas of farming that have, and continue to be, digitalised. This increases analytical precision when identifying digitalisation activities that differ depending on the strategy to either scale or diversify. The authors propose that incremental digitalising occurs to a great extent during a scaling strategy, and that radical digitalising occurs to a smaller extent during diversification strategies in family farms.

Research limitations/implications

This research uses a sample of family-run farms from the UK agricultural sector to explore nuanced elements of digitalisation. It should therefore be explored in other types of family firms located in different sectors and geographies.

Practical implications

This research is important because family farms are under increasing pressure and have limited financial resources to deal with the digitalisation agenda. Therefore, empirical evidence helps other farms in similar situations. The authors found digitalisation investments, that tend to be capital intensive, only matter for scalers and less so for diversifiers. Family farms can use the model presented as a tool to evaluate their farm. The tool helps them define what to do, and ideate the potential activities that might be digitalised, to feed into their wider strategy.

Social implications

Family firms, in particular farms, are critical to many economies. The general consenses currently assumes all family firms should digitalise, yet the authors' evidence suggests that this is not the case. It is important to create policies that are sensitive to the needs of different types of businesses, in this case between family firm scalers and diversifiers, instead of simply incentivising digitalisation using a blanket approach usually by offering financial aid. Understanding how digitisation can support (or not) family firm resilience and growth in an effective and efficient manner can have significant benefit to individual firms, and across industries.

Originality/value

The proposed model extends theoretical understanding linking strategy, digitalisation activity and innovation in family farms. It shows that digitalisation is a key building block of scaling strategies, maximising digitalisation to increase efficiency. Yet, diversifying family farms minimise digitalisation, whereby they only digitalise a small amount of the farming activity. This empirical evidence contrasts with the wider narrative that farmers are slower at using new technology. This research found that some are slower because it does not align with their strategy. However, sometimes digitalisation aligns with their strategy during external changes, in which case the diversifiers are quick to act.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2023

Gernot M. Stadtfeld and Tim Gruchmann

The research on supply chain resilience (SCRES) has gained momentum after organizations have experienced more frequent and severe disruptions, especially with COVID-19 and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The research on supply chain resilience (SCRES) has gained momentum after organizations have experienced more frequent and severe disruptions, especially with COVID-19 and the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Due to its potential for new practices and capability building, SCRES requires dynamic capabilities (DC) to enable an organization to prepare for, counter, and recuperate from disruptions leading to performance improvements and competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

The present literature study seeks to enrich the theoretical debate on DC in SCRES, contributing to an advanced understanding of SCRES. Therefore, a meta-review of 83 peer-reviewed literature reviews has been conducted. Based on qualitative content analysis and abductive reasoning, relevant constructs are synthesized to facilitate theory-building for SCRES DC into a comprehensive framework.

Findings

The analysis reveals that SCRES has developed into an independent research area. Thus, resilience capabilities must be considered bundles of practices, evolving from different areas beyond supply chain risk management (SCRM). Most recent literature reviews on SCRES address more than one practice bundle applying SCRES DC as antecedents of new DC when organizational structures become more mature, leading to path dependencies when building business capabilities.

Originality/value

Aggregating extant literature on SCRES into a theoretical framework, the study contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between DC and SCRES practices while offering potential avenues for future research. It enriches DC theory by extending its microfoundations towards a holding/buffering dimension, which particularly accounts for the stability-based view of SCRES.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2024

Nichapa Phraknoi, Mark Stevenson and Meng Jia

The purpose of this study is to define and investigate the governance requirements of supply chain finance (SCF).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to define and investigate the governance requirements of supply chain finance (SCF).

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative analysis of 849 news articles published in UK newspapers (2000–2022) using the Gioia method.

Findings

SCF governance relies on developing capacities for reflexive scrutiny at two stages: (1) prior to entering into an SCF relationship and (2) during its operation. Based on the notion of SCF as a complex adaptive system, we theorise SCF governance requirements as a dual-layered semipermeable boundary. The semipermeability of the two layers allows for a dynamic exchange between the SCF system and its environment. The first layer is the capacity to selectively enable or control the entry and access of certain actors and practices into the SCF system. The second layer is a capacity for ongoing scrutiny of the SCF operation and its development. Further, we identify five aspects of governance to be enabled, i.e. enhancing adaptability, building confidence, improving efficiency, advancing technology and promoting transparency; and four aspects to be controlled, i.e. preventing abuse of power, curbing fraud risk, constraining operational risk and restricting risky extensions to SCF practices.

Practical implications

Our dynamic framework can guide supply chain (SC) members in making decisions about whether to participate, or continue to operate, in an SCF relationship. Moreover, the findings have implications for policymakers and authorities who oversee entry/access and the involvement of SCF providers, particularly, fintech firms.

Originality/value

The study contributes to both the SC and governance literature by providing a systematic analysis of what SCF governance has to accomplish. Our novel contribution lies in its analysis of SCF governance based on a complex adaptive system approach, which expands the existing literature where SCF is described in rather static terms. More specifically, it suggests a need for a dynamic duality of SCF governance through the semipermeable boundary that selectively enables and controls certain SCF actors and practices.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2023

Franklin Nakpodia, Folajimi Ashiru, Jacqueline Jing You and Oluwasola Oni

Social entrepreneurship (SE) is a complex phenomenon designed to resolve numerous societal challenges while remaining economically viable. However, how social entrepreneurs in…

Abstract

Purpose

Social entrepreneurship (SE) is a complex phenomenon designed to resolve numerous societal challenges while remaining economically viable. However, how social entrepreneurs in developing countries have deployed digital technologies to address communal challenges during the Covid-19 crisis is largely undocumented. This research examines social entrepreneurs' adoption of digital technologies, the multi-level organisational conditions, and associated innovative outcomes of engaging digital technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the organisational resilience theoretical framework, this research employs a qualitative methodology, comprising 38 semi-structured interviews with Nigerian SE firms, to investigate social entrepreneurs' engagement with digital technologies.

Findings

The study’s findings reveal 19 pathways through which digital technologies enabled organisational resilience outcomes by Nigerian SE firms during the Covid-19 pandemic. This allows the authors to show, via a 3 × 3 matrix, how social entrepreneurs deploy digital technologies to build proximate, dynamic, and continuous resilience in a weak institutional context.

Originality/value

The study’s findings enables the authors to advance the SE – digital technologies – resilience scholarship in a developing economy.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2024

Mohamed Mousa, Doaa Althalathini and Beatrice Avolio

The aim of this paper is to answer the question: What stimulates artisan entrepreneurs to act as responsible leaders?

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to answer the question: What stimulates artisan entrepreneurs to act as responsible leaders?

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research method was employed and semi-structured interviews with 30 artisans working in four different artisanal activities were used to gather the data. Thematic analysis was subsequently applied to the interview transcripts.

Findings

The findings suggest that the main factors causing artisan entrepreneurs to act responsibly are as follows: autonomy (the authority artisans exercise in managing their businesses; preserving socio-cultural identity is an artisan’s main duty; proving an individual competency in implementing society-related priorities), competence (adhering to generally accepted business practices; simplicity of developing and maintaining the social agenda of artisan enterprises; meeting the clients’ desire in exercising a social awareness) and relatedness (returning social favours; necessitating involvement with different stakeholders; contributing to the common good).

Originality/value

This paper contributes by filling a gap in the literature on artisan entrepreneurship, responsible leadership and research in tourism and hospitality, in which empirical studies on the responsible practices of artisan entrepreneurs have been limited so far.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2024

Md Zillur Rahman, Farid Ullah and Piers Thompson

Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality traits can be formed in the early stages of life due to experiences and the surrounding context, where religion is a particularly important aspect of this context. This study aims to explore how religion affects entrepreneurial activities through the personality traits created.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses interviews with 43 Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland to examine the role played by religion. This ensures that the national institutional context is kept consistent but also allows an in-depth examination of relationships, which are likely to be interlinked and recursive.

Findings

The traits created influence the nature of the entrepreneurial activities undertaken with the potential to harm and support the entrepreneurial endeavours. It is the combination of personality traits that are formed which have the greatest effect. As such, it is found that Muslim entrepreneurs display less openness and creativity associated with new ideas, but this does not reflect risk aversion rather hard work in itself is valued, and patience combined with an external locus of control mean entrepreneurial behaviours are not altered to boost poorly performing business activities.

Originality/value

For Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland, their traits explain why growth may not be a foremost consideration of these entrepreneurs rather they may value hard work and meeting the ideals of formal and informal institutions associated with religion. For those seeking to support minority groups through the promotion of entrepreneurship, either they must seek to overcome these ingrained traits or alter support to complement the different objectives held by Muslim entrepreneurs.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2022

Annie Singla and Rajat Agrawal

This study aims to investigate barriers and enablers of social media usage by zooming on one specific type of domain: disaster management. First, by systematically reviewing…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate barriers and enablers of social media usage by zooming on one specific type of domain: disaster management. First, by systematically reviewing previous studies using a typology to social media usage, this study identifies the challenges often faced. Second, the results are visualized by qualitatively analyzing the focus group discussion data.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper opted for an inductive thematic approach of grounded theory, including focus group discussion with ten participants from diverse backgrounds working in the disaster domain. The data is transcribed verbatim and coded using Atlas.ti software.

Findings

The findings suggest that the vogue of social media significantly ascends its usage in disaster management. Regulatory, software, physical, authenticity, cultural and demographic rose as challenges for social media usage in disaster management. Findings further indicate enablers as the rise in mobile penetration, democratic participation, increase in living standards, two-way real-time communication, global reach, expeditious decision-making, no space-time constraint and cheaper source of information. Social media, compared to traditional media, is explored. This study has practical implications in helping authorities understand the barriers and enablers for social media usage in disaster management.

Originality/value

Qualitative data analysis of social media usage for disaster management has received scant attention. The main takeaway of this research is to offer clear findings of the purview of social media usage for disaster management. It demonstrates the challenges and enablers of disaster management using social media in the Indian context. Results indicate that leveraging social media for disaster management can extend decision-making for effective disaster management.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 73 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Junghee Han

Quite often than not, a new industry can be created, thanks to the countless entrepreneurs and innovative activities across the globe. Smart city (SC) is one such industry and a…

Abstract

Purpose

Quite often than not, a new industry can be created, thanks to the countless entrepreneurs and innovative activities across the globe. Smart city (SC) is one such industry and a living lab using the key roles of the digital platform that enable a seamless flow of information and knowledge for innovation within the SC. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how SC can be a new regional industry engine through an “open collective innovation system” as its new concept. In particular, SC provides efficient transaction costs and knowledge flows. Eventually, SC can be an innovation hub for entrepreneurship through openness.

Design/methodology/approach

To frame the research goals, the authors used qualitative research methodologies based on grounded theory. In particular, the author used inductive reasoning to generate arguments and conclusions about the future of an SC as a new growth engine in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Numerous documents and prior literature were used for the preliminary conceptualization of an SC. Interview data were then coded for reasoning in an open collective innovation system based on “openness”.

Findings

SC maximizes efficiency in practicing innovation. In the perspective of innovation costs, SC can minimize transaction costs, specifically the information processing costs, through data openness. In this context, transaction costs can be considered an economic equivalent of friction in a physical system. So, as the friction is low, some movements of an object on the surface are likely to be easy. SC is optimized for innovation activities through an “open collective innovation system”. In terms of innovation networks, an SC results in an innovation efficiency derived from both the network and the spatial agglomerations in physical and cyberspace. The efficiency-based SC itself overlaps knowledge creation, dissemination and absorption, providing an open innovation (OI) ecosystem.

Research limitations/implications

This paper remarkably extends that SC can be an “open collective innovation system model” and a new conceptualization. Eventually, SC will play a crucial role in developing regional industries as a new growth engine. To operate as a new growth engine fully-fledged, the SC is needed to accumulate innovative assets such as the critical mass of residents, numerous firms, etc. However, this study has some limitations. First, difficulties in any analytic approach to SC resulted from their many interdependent facets, such as social, economic, infrastructural and spatial complex systems, which exist in similar but changing forms over a huge range of scales. Also, this research is at a quite an early stage. Thus, its theoretical stability is weak. So, this paper used the qualitative methodology with a grounded theory. Another limitation is in the research methodology. The limitation of using grounded theory adapted by this work is that the results of this study may not be generalizable beyond the context of this study. This non-generalizability occurs because ours is an inductive approach to research, meaning that the findings are based on data collected and analyzed. As such, the results of this study may not be applicable to other contexts or situations. In addition, the analysis of data in the grounded theory is based on researcher’s subjective interpretations. This means that the researcher’s own biases, preferences and assumptions may influence the results of the study. The quality of the data collected is another potential limitation. If the data is incomplete or of poor quality, it can cause researcher’s own subjective interpretations.

Practical implications

Findings of this study have some practical implications for enterprises, practitioners and governors. First, firms should use value networks instead of value chains. Notably, the firms that pursue new products or services or startups that try to find a new venture business should take full advantage of SC. This taking advantage is possible because SC not only adapts state-of-the-art information technology (e.g. sensor devices, open data analytics, IoT and fiber optic networks) but also facilitates knowledge flow (e.g. between universities, research centers, knowledge-based partner firms and public agencies). More importantly, with globalized market competition in recent years, sustainability for firms is a challenging issue. In this respect, managers can take the benefits of SC into consideration for strategic decisions for sustainability. Specifically, industrial practitioners who engage in innovation activities have capabilities of network-related technologies (e.g. data analysis, AI, IoT and sensor networks). By using these technologies in an SC, enterprises can keep existing customers as well as attract potential customers. Lastly, the findings of this study contribute to policy implementation in many aspects. At first, for SC to become a growth engine at regional or natural levels, strong policy implementation is crucial because SC is widely regarded as a means of entrepreneurship and an innovation plaza (Kraus et al., 2015). To facilitate entrepreneurship, maker spaces used for making the prototypes to support entrepreneurial process were setup within universities. The reason for establishing maker spaces in universities is to expand networking between entrepreneurs and experts and lead to innovation through a value network. One of the policy instruments that can be adapted is the “Data Basic Income Scheme” suggested by this research to boost the usage of data, providing content and information for doing business. Also, a governor in SC as an intermediator for the process of the knowledge flow should initiate soft configuration for SC.

Social implications

This work makes two theoretical contributions to OI aspects: (1) it explores dynamic model archetypes; and (2) it articulates and highlights how SC with digital technology (i.e. in the AI, IoT and big data context) can be used to create collective knowledge flow efficiently. First, the findings of this study shed light on the OI dynamic model. It reveals important archetypes of new sub-clustering creation, namely, a system that underpins the holistic process of innovation by categorization in amongst the participating value network (Aguilar-Gallegos et al., 2015). In innovation studies, scholars have particularly paid attention to a cluster’s evolution model. In the process of innovation, the “open innovation dynamic model” suggested by this study illustrates sub-clustering that happens in value networks by taking the benefits of SC. Eventually, the evolution or development of sub-clusters can bring in a new system, namely, an OI system. Second, the findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the role of digital technologies in promoting knowledge flow. The usage and deployment of digital technologies in SC may enormously and positively influence innovative activities for participants. Furthermore, the rising of digital economy, in the so-called platform business, may occur depending on advanced technologies and OI. In doing so, the findings can further tow innovation research through juxtaposition between SC and innovation research (Mehra et al., 2021).

Originality/value

This paper shows that the function of an SC not only improves the quality of life but also acts as an engine of new industry through an open collective innovation setting using dynamic and ecological models.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

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