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1 – 10 of 26The paper aims to investigate the relationship between institutions and economic growth in developing countries, considering the role of financial inclusion, education spending…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the relationship between institutions and economic growth in developing countries, considering the role of financial inclusion, education spending and military spending.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs dynamic panel analysis, specifically two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM), on a sample of 61 developing countries over the period 2009–2020.
Findings
The results confirm that weak institutional quality, weak financial inclusion and increased military spending are barriers to economic growth, conversely, increased spending on education and gross capital formation contribute to economic growth in developing countries. Regarding the specific institutional factor, we find that corruption, ineffective government, voice and accountability and weak rule of law contribute negatively to growth.
Practical implications
The study calls for strengthening institutions so that the financial system supports economic growth and suggests increasing spending on education to improve access to and the quality of human capital, which is an important determinant of economic growth.
Originality/value
The study contributes to scarce literature by empirically analyzing the relationship between institutions and economic growth by considering the role of financial inclusion, public spending on education and military spending, factors that have been ignored in previous studies. In addition, the study identifies the institutional dimension that contributes to reduced economic growth in developing countries.
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Chi Aloysius Ngong, Kesuh Jude Thaddeus and Josaphat Uchechukwu Joe Onwumere
This paper aims to examine the causation linking financial technology to economic growth in the East African Community states from 1997 to 2019.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the causation linking financial technology to economic growth in the East African Community states from 1997 to 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
Autoregressive distributed lag is used. Gross domestic product per capita proxies economic growth, automated teller machines, point of sale, debit card ownership and mobile banking measure financial technology.
Findings
The results unveil a significant relationship between financial technology and economic growth. The findings show bidirectional causality between automated teller machine and economic growth, with unidirectional causation from economic growth to point of sales and internet banking, mobile banking and government effectiveness to economic growth. The error correction term is negatively significant, demonstrating a long-term convergence between Fintech measures and economic growth.
Research limitations/implications
The governments should effectively enact and implement policies that protect investments in financial technologies to boost economic growth in the East African Community countries. The government should reduce taxes on financial technology equipment and related services. The use of automated teller machine, debit card ownership and internet banking should be encouraged through cashless transactions. Financial institutions should adopt cashless operation policies to encourage the use of financial technologies.
Originality/value
Research results on the bond between financial technology and economic growth are not conclusive. These studies demonstrate that technological innovations are double edged-swords, with both positive and negative sides. The results are conflicting; some reveal positive relationships, while others show negative links. Hence, research is required to fill the lacuna.
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Meysam Manesh, Assad Tavakoli, Adebukola E. Oyewunmi and Soma Pillay
This paper aims to understand employees’ propensity to blow the whistle in two East African countries. This study develops a model of ethical decision-making (EDM) to assist…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand employees’ propensity to blow the whistle in two East African countries. This study develops a model of ethical decision-making (EDM) to assist management in predicting the probability of whistleblowing in Kenya and Uganda. It also seeks to find the moderating effect of perceived retaliation on whistleblowing intention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study administers a standardized questionnaire to employees in Kenya and Uganda to measure their perceptions about whistleblowing in their organizations. This study uses partial least square structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. This study uses four constructs, namely, awareness, judgment, retaliation and likelihood, of blowing the whistle. These constructs are measured with multiple-item scales.
Findings
The results show that ethical awareness and judgment significantly increase willingness to engage in whistleblowing in East Africa. However, this study does not find a significant retaliation effect on whistleblowing intention. Instead, this study finds that awareness and judgment mediate between retaliation and willingness to engage in whistleblowing.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to EDM topics. It advances the understanding of the whistleblowing concept, the retaliation effect and the reasons to encourage blowing the whistle in Africa. However, this study did not consider cultural factors, such as nationality, patriotism and ethnicity. Moreover, the results are only based on data from Uganda and Kenya and may not apply to other sub-Saharan nations.
Practical implications
These findings are particularly significant for managers and policymakers in East Africa, where fear of retaliation and lack of awareness are the main barriers to whistleblowing. The results may help managers develop human resource practices to include policies to support moral behavior. It may also provide insights to the policymakers to understand the factors that facilitate whistleblowing practices and help them to adopt new strategies or policies to stimulate whistleblowing culture.
Originality/value
This study is one of the initial empirical studies in the East Africa context to explore the EDM predictors and the impact of retaliation on the whistleblowing intention.
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Richard Robertson, Athanasios Petsakos, Chun Song, Nicola Cenacchi and Elisabetta Gotor
The choice of crops to produce at a location depends to a large degree on the climate. As the climate changes and food demand evolves, farmers may need to produce a different mix…
Abstract
Purpose
The choice of crops to produce at a location depends to a large degree on the climate. As the climate changes and food demand evolves, farmers may need to produce a different mix of crops. This study assesses how much cropland may be subject to such upheavals at the global scale, and then focuses on China as a case study to examine how spatial heterogeneity informs different contexts for adaptation within a country.
Design/methodology/approach
A global agricultural economic model is linked to a cropland allocation algorithm to generate maps of cropland distribution under historical and future conditions. The mix of crops at each location is examined to determine whether it is likely to experience a major shift.
Findings
Two-thirds of rainfed cropland and half of irrigated cropland are likely to experience substantial upheaval of some kind.
Originality/value
This analysis helps establish a global context for the local changes that producers might face under future climate and socioeconomic changes. The scale of the challenge means that the agricultural sector needs to prepare for these widespread and diverse upheavals.
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In pursuit of good governance and better allocation of resources, corruption and informal economy are of interest to policymakers and citizens alike. The impacts of military…
Abstract
Purpose
In pursuit of good governance and better allocation of resources, corruption and informal economy are of interest to policymakers and citizens alike. The impacts of military spending on the informal economy are scant. Moreover, the effects of an external factor, such as corruption that moderates this relationship, have largely been neglected in previous studies. Hence, this paper investigates how corruption moderates the effects of military spending on the informal economy in 30 Asian countries from 1995 to 2017.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes the GMM estimation technique, which allows cross-sectional dependence and slope homogeneity in panel data analysis, to examine the moderating role of corruption on the relationship between military spending and the informal economy.
Findings
Empirical findings from this paper indicate that an increase in military spending declines the informal economy while corruption increases it. Interestingly, the negative effects of military spending on the informal economy will mitigate with a greater degree of corruption in the Asian region. We also find that enhancing economic growth and attracting more FDI has reduced the informal economy in Asian countries.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study conducted to examine the moderating role of corruption on the military spending – informal economy nexus. Thus far, this approach has not been investigated in the existing literature, particularly for Asian countries.
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Liang Hong and Siti Rohaida Mohamed Zainal
Researcher agreed that job performance has a positive effect on productivity as well as an organisation’s efficiency. Thus, this study aims to investigate the impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
Researcher agreed that job performance has a positive effect on productivity as well as an organisation’s efficiency. Thus, this study aims to investigate the impact of mindfulness skill, inclusive leadership (IL), employee work engagement and self-compassion on the overall job performance of secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. It then evaluates the mediating effect of employee work engagement between the relationships of mindfulness skill, IL and job performance, as well as the moderate effect of self-compassion between the relationships of mindfulness skill, IL and employee work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample comprised 263 teachers working from three secondary schools in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The data was then analysed using Smart PLS version 4.0.9.
Findings
The results showed significant positive relationships between mindfulness skill and IL towards employee work engagement and between employee work engagement and job performance; meanwhile, there emerged a significant effect on the relationship between mindfulness skill and IL towards job performance. Furthermore, this research has confirmed that self-compassion did not moderate the relationship between mindfulness skill, IL and employee work engagement, but employee work engagement plays a mediating effect on the relationship between mindfulness skill, IL and job performance.
Originality/value
This research has helped to fill the literature gap by examining the mediating roles of employee work engagement and mediator role of self-compassion in the integrated relationship of multi-factor and job performance. Examining the mediating role of employee work engagement has helped to enhance the understanding of the underlying principle of the indirect influence of mindfulness skill, IL and job performance. The result of this research shows that self-compassion plays a vital role in influencing the employees’ work engagement. Hence, it is important that companies design human resource management policy that enables self-compassion to be used as a consideration psychological-related strategy when structing organisation or teams. It is also crucial for top management and policymakers to define and communicate the organisation’s operating principle, value and goals.
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Kumar Shaurav, Abdhut Deheri and Badri Narayan Rath
The purpose of this research is to evaluate corruption in the context of India, spanning the period between 1988 and 2021. Additionally, it aims to provide an in-depth…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to evaluate corruption in the context of India, spanning the period between 1988 and 2021. Additionally, it aims to provide an in-depth comprehension of the factors that drive its prevalence and to propose policy directives for addressing these underlying issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study instead of relying on perception-based measures, takes a distinct approach by formulating a corruption index derived from reported instances, thus ensuring a more objective assessment. Furthermore, we employ stochastic frontier analysis to tackle the issue of under-reporting within the corruption index based on reported cases. Subsequently, an auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology is applied to ascertain the principal drivers of corruption, encompassing both long and short factors.
Findings
This study reveals that corruption in India is notably influenced by economic growth and income inequality. Conversely, government effectiveness and globalization display a tendency to mitigate corruption. However, our rigorous analysis demonstrates that financial development does not wield a substantial influence in our study. Moreover, our inquiry uncovers a nonlinear relationship between economic growth and corruption. Additionally, we ascertain that the long run and short run impacts of corruption remain relatively stable across both models utilized in our study.
Originality/value
This study differs from previous research in the subsequent manners. Primarily, we employed an objective measure to formulate the corruption index, coupled with addressing the underreporting issues via stochastic frontier analysis. Moreover, this study pioneers the identification of a non-linear relationship between corruption and economic growth within the Indian context, a facet unexplored in previous investigations.
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Edoardo Trincanato and Emidia Vagnoni
The lean startup approach (LSA) is extensively utilized by early-stage entrepreneurs, with “pivot” serving as a key pillar. However, there is a research gap concerning the…
Abstract
Purpose
The lean startup approach (LSA) is extensively utilized by early-stage entrepreneurs, with “pivot” serving as a key pillar. However, there is a research gap concerning the boundary conditions impacting LSA and pivot decisions, especially when addressing societal challenges, as in the context of transformational entrepreneurship. In this regard, the healthcare sector, further compounded by a lack of research on startups and scale-ups, presents an embraced opportunity to provide multiple contributions for both theory and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The present investigation employs a grounded approach to explore the experiences of the co-founders of a fast-growing Italian e-health startup. A narrative strategy was employed to organize conditions and evolving strategic action/interactions into three different pivoting phases of the startup – before the pivot, its enactment and aftermath – with primary and secondary data collected over a period of one year.
Findings
Pivoting in digital healthcare unfolded as a liminal experience marked by factors such as high regulation, multiple stakeholders, technological and symbolic ambivalence, resource-intensive demands and institutional actors acting as pathway pioneers, leading to an information overload and unforeseeable uncertainty to manage. These factors challenge entrepreneurs' ability to attain optimal distinctiveness, presenting the paradoxical need for vertical flexibility for scaling up.
Social implications
By uniquely illuminating the sector’s constraints on entrepreneurial phenomena, this study provides a valuable guide for entrepreneurs and institutional actors in addressing societal challenges.
Originality/value
This study introduces a process model of transformational information crafting when pivoting, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs' transformational stance and platform-mediated solutions as engines behind strategies involving information breaking and transition, preceding knowledge-driven integration strategies.
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Garima Malik and Pratibha Singh
This study focusses on the intersection of social sustainability and human resource management (HRM) as a strategy for crisis management. It aims to provide detailed insight by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study focusses on the intersection of social sustainability and human resource management (HRM) as a strategy for crisis management. It aims to provide detailed insight by exploring the associations between socially sustainable HRM (SSHRM), employee well-being, trust in social capital and employee resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a cross-sectional research design to test relationships amongst variables. Data was gathered from employees in India’s private-sector information technology (IT) industry, making the framework relevant to this specific context. The study employed the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse complex relationships between the variables.
Findings
The results indicate that organisations can boost employee resilience through SSHRM implementation, promote personal well-being (PWB) and family well-being (FWB) and foster trust in social capital. Additionally, the study highlights the moderating impact of employee empowerment, improving the translation of positive employee behaviour in organisational settings.
Practical implications
Our research emphasises the importance of sustainability efforts and strategies focused on social capital to build long-lasting employee connections. This highlights the necessity of incorporating social sustainability objectives into the organisation’s strategic blueprint, ensuring integration into decision-making procedures.
Originality/value
This study uniquely explores the underlying mechanisms through which SSHRM influences employee resilience. An in-depth empirical analysis evinces the causal mechanism between SSHRM, employee well-being, social capital trust and employee resilience.
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Jiwon Chung, Hyunbin Won, Hannah Lee, Soah Park, Hyewon Ahn, Suhyun Pyeon, Jeong Eun Yoon and Sumin Koo
The objective of this study was to develop wearable suit platforms with various anchoring structure designs with the intention of improving wearability and enhancing user…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to develop wearable suit platforms with various anchoring structure designs with the intention of improving wearability and enhancing user satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
This study selected fabrics and materials for the suit platform through material performance tests. Two anchoring structure designs, 11-type and X-type are compared with regular clothing under control conditions. To evaluate the comfort level of the wearable suit platform, a satisfaction survey and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements are conducted to triangulate the findings.
Findings
The 11-type exhibited higher values in comfort indicators such as α, θ, α/High-β and lower values in concentration or stress indicators such as β, ϒ, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)+Mid-β/θ, and a spectral edge frequency of 95% compared to the X-type while walking. The 11-type offers greater comfort and satisfaction compared to the X-type when lifting based on the EEG measurements and the participants survey.
Originality/value
It is recommended to implement the 11-type when designing wearable suit platforms. These findings offer essential data on wearability, which can guide the development of soft wearable robots.
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