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1 – 10 of 79A. John William, M. Suresh and Nagamani Subramanian
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a major source of employment and revenue growth in developing nations like India, but they also face challenges from resource…
Abstract
Purpose
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a major source of employment and revenue growth in developing nations like India, but they also face challenges from resource shortages, shifting consumer demand and heightened competition. This research aims to discover the aspects that enhance SMEs' competitiveness and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
By analyzing literature and consulting experts, 10 factors that boost a firm's competitiveness were identified. The total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method was then used to determine their interaction and structural hierarchy. Neutrosophic-MICMAC analysis was employed to assess the driving-dependence power of each factor.
Findings
The study discovered that the factor, namely “entrepreneurial orientation,” was found to be a significant one. “Manufacturing strategy” was found to be extremely dependent on the remaining competitive advantage factors.
Research limitations/implications
This SME-focused framework can be adopted by large businesses to enhance organizational performance by focusing on critical factors. The study depends on experts' judgment, which might be biased. Findings will assist SMEs in identifying significant factors influencing competitive advantage and relationships, increasing awareness of factors contributing to competitive edge.
Practical implications
The results of the research may encourage SME sector managers and practitioners to prioritize the factors that contribute to a firm's competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The majority of research on SME competitive advantage focuses on individual aspects. To add to the body of knowledge on the subject, this study applies the TISM technique to Indian SMEs to identify the contextual interactions among factors that increase long-term competitiveness.
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Hafiz Muhammad Usman Khizar, Jawad Iqbal, Junaid Khalid and Zahid Hameed
This study aims to investigate how the interplay of multiple strategic orientations influences the growth-based performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how the interplay of multiple strategic orientations influences the growth-based performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The authors have specifically examined the direct and complementary effects of multiple strategic orientations [i.e. entrepreneurial orientation (EO), market orientation (MO) and sustainability orientation (SO)] on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The data have been collected from 410 SMEs operating in Pakistan.
Findings
The results revealed that the multiple strategic orientations (EO, SO and MO) have positive direct as well as complementary effects on SMEs' growth-based performance. Specifically, the joint effects of EO and MO were shown higher than other combinations and complementarities. Moreover, the direct effect of SO is found far lesser than the joint implementation of SO with either EO or MO.
Originality/value
This study provides key insights into corporate sustainability, strategic orientations and SME performance literature. The implications for theory, practice, policy and future research are discussed.
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Inani Husna Zamri, Beverley R. Lord and Natasja Steenkamp
This study aims to explore farmers’ perceptions of environmental impacts of dairying and their practices towards implementing environmental management accounting (EMA) techniques.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore farmers’ perceptions of environmental impacts of dairying and their practices towards implementing environmental management accounting (EMA) techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were held with five dairy farmers in the South Island of New Zealand (NZ).
Findings
Dairy farmers perceive environmental sustainability in dairying as being able to feed people while protecting the environment so that future generations can also enjoy the natural world. Recognising the need to alter their practices to reduce environmental damage they have produced, dairy farmers use some EMA techniques, but the primary motivation is compliance with government regulations. Other motivations for using EMA techniques are high economic returns, maintaining their reputation and self-satisfaction. Barriers to implementing EMA techniques are primarily due to lack of clarity and feasibility of regulations, coercion and inadequate communication by regulators and high compliance costs.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the current EMA literature by providing a better understanding of EMA practices of dairy farmers in NZ, barriers to implementing EMA and how those barriers could be reduced. It may also help NZ central and local government in developing environmental strategies and policies. Furthermore, this research is expected to help people in the dairy industry to find ways to educate farmers about how the measures that are required can help them to reduce both the environmental impacts and the costs of dairying, thus contributing to sustainable development globally.
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Promoting sustainable consumption is key to global sustainable development. The current study aims to explore the impact of environmental risk perception, environmental knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
Promoting sustainable consumption is key to global sustainable development. The current study aims to explore the impact of environmental risk perception, environmental knowledge, social pressure and health consciousness on sustainable behavior intention among millennial consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a survey method and a self-administered questionnaire to obtain data from the millennial generation. Smart partial least square (PLS) 4.0 was used to analyze data. This research used judgmental sampling and collected 596 valid responses.
Findings
The present study indicates that sustainable consumption is becoming more prevalent among millennials. The authors observed that a high level of environmental risk perception, environmental knowledge, social pressure and health consciousness are the antecedents of sustainable behavioral intention, ultimately leading to sustainable consumption behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The current study highlights the millennial generation's sustainable consumption behavior. Researchers, policymakers, scientists, managers, industry professionals and brand managers can use the research findings to establish a sustainable framework.
Originality/value
This research finds that promoting ecological consumption and environmental consciousness can help developing countries achieve environmental sustainability and ecological balance. The research findings add to the literature by offering new insights into customers' pricing perception for sustainable products and sustainable product availability toward sustainable consumption behavior in developing countries.
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Abdullahi Mohammed Usman and Kamil Abdullah
The purpose of this study is to develop a set of parameters universally acceptable for assessing design and construction strategies for reducing operational energy usage and its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a set of parameters universally acceptable for assessing design and construction strategies for reducing operational energy usage and its associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Also, the parameters are intended to estimate the quantity of energy and its associated GHG emission reduction over the assessment period.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used five steps framework comprising definition of purpose, selecting the candidate parameters, criteria selection and description, selecting proposed parameters and defining the proposed parameters. The criteria used were the parameter’s prevalence, measurability, preference and feasibility toward adaptability to the relevant stakeholders.
Findings
This study consolidated 11 parameters. Seven cover designs and construction strategies comprising energy monitoring, natural lighting and ventilation design. Others are building thermal performance, efficient equipments, renewable energy and energy policy. The remaining four consider operational energy consumption, GHG emission quantification and their reduction over time.
Practical implications
Providing suitable indicators for assessing direct and indirect GHG emission with easily accessible data is essential for assessing built environment. The consolidated parameters can be used in developing rating systems, monitoring GHG inventories and activities of building related industries.
Originality/value
This study was conducted at the CEIES UTHM and used 11 existing rating systems open for research purposes, International Panel for Climate Change reports and GHG protocol report and guides and several other standards.
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Rajat Subhra Chatterjee, Naveed R. Khan, Irfan Hameed and Idrees Waris
This study aims to emphasize the youth community’s importance in sustaining green entrepreneurial efforts. The study used the stimulus organism response framework as the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to emphasize the youth community’s importance in sustaining green entrepreneurial efforts. The study used the stimulus organism response framework as the theoretical base using two separate studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 commences the development of the student green engagement construct through a focus group, panel discussion and exploratory factor analysis, which supported five items. Study 2 measures the relationship of student green engagement with green entrepreneurial intention by mediating university entrepreneurial support and entrepreneurial motivation. Data from 448 students were gathered from five Malaysian private institutions using a purposive sampling technique.
Findings
Findings indicate a robust association of student green engagement (stimuli) with green entrepreneurial intention (organism). Furthermore, mediation analysis shows strong mediating effects of university entrepreneurial support and entrepreneurial motivation on green entrepreneurship behavior (response).
Originality/value
The study’s findings can help the universities and concerned governmental departments instill a sense of sustainable entrepreneurship in university students.
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Khaled Al-Omoush, Belen Ribeiro-Navarrete and William C. McDowell
This study examines the impact of digital corporate social responsibility (CSR) on social entrepreneurship, organizational resilience and competitive intelligence during the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the impact of digital corporate social responsibility (CSR) on social entrepreneurship, organizational resilience and competitive intelligence during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. It also examines the impact of competitive intelligence on social entrepreneurship and organizational resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from telecommunication companies in Jordan with a sample of 223 managers, using Smart-PLS for analysis and testing the research model and hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal a significant impact of digital CSR on social entrepreneurship. They show that digital CSR significantly impacts organizational resilience. The findings also indicate a significant role of digital CSR in competitive intelligence. This study shows that social entrepreneurship significantly impacts organizational resilience. The results also confirm the impact of competitive intelligence on social entrepreneurship. Finally, the results confirm that competitive intelligence significantly impacts organizational resilience.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable academic and practical insights into digital CSR practices, social entrepreneurship and how to support organizational resilience during crises.
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This paper sought to understand the communication activities of employees who were required to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors examined the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sought to understand the communication activities of employees who were required to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors examined the relationship between these individuals' efficient and interrupting communication with their peers in other locations and with individuals who were colocated with them at home. The authors also investigated these workers' job engagement and willingness to speak out about organizational issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper drew upon a survey of 579 employees via an online panel.
Findings
Efficient communication positively predicted employees' job engagement, whereas interruptions negatively predicted job engagement. Additional analyses showed that efficient communication was positively associated with job engagement, which in predicted a higher level of employee voice. Managers showed significantly higher levels of job engagement and voice than nonmanagers.
Practical implications
Recommendations are made for communication managers to cultivate job engagement and to manage interruptions with home-based employees.
Originality/value
Scholars with an interest in job demands and resources have not fully examined how interpersonal communication shapes job engagement and voice scholars have often overlooked teleworkers' communication needs. This study adds depth to the communication management literature in both areas.
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Kayla B. Follmer, Mackenzie J. Miller and Joy E. Beatty
Research related to workplace accommodation requests for employees with mental illness is scarce, though evidence suggests that these individuals often fail to request…
Abstract
Purpose
Research related to workplace accommodation requests for employees with mental illness is scarce, though evidence suggests that these individuals often fail to request accommodations even when needed. The authors' research study aimed to address these shortcomings by (1) assessing employees' knowledge of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws and how this knowledge influences employees' perceived need for and requests of accommodations; (2) examining the relationship between employees' perceived need for accommodations and employees' workplace outcomes and (3) examining the relationship between perceived need for accommodations and employees' actual accommodation requests, as well as how stigma influences this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used two survey studies to investigate their research questions. Study 1 participants were recruited through Amazon's MTurk, and Study 2 participants were recruited through support groups for individuals diagnosed with mood disorders (i.e. depression and bipolar disorder).
Findings
The authors found significant gaps in both subjective and objective ADA-related knowledge among participants in their sample. The authors' Study 1 results also revealed an interaction between the perceived need for accommodations and accommodation requests in predicting job satisfaction and turnover intentions. When employees needed accommodations but did not request them, it resulted in worsened workplace outcomes. In Study 2, the authors aimed to identify barriers to requesting accommodations. The authors found that the relationship between perceived need for accommodations and actual accommodation requests was moderated by both public and self-stigma, thereby showing that stigma can impede individuals from requesting needed accommodations at work.
Originality/value
The authors' study sheds light on a population that has been relatively understudied in the workplace accommodations literature, namely those with mental illness. The authors first identify the perceived need for accommodations as an important factor in making accommodations requests at work, as prior work has failed to differentiate how the need for accommodations can vary across individuals. Next, the authors show how workplace outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and turnover intentions) are negatively affected when employees need accommodations but do not request them. Finally, the authors demonstrate how both public stigma and self-stigma can reduce the likelihood that individuals request accommodations at work, even when needed.
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Qurat-ul-Ain Burhan and Muhammad Asif Khan
Empowering leadership has a wide range of positive individual employee-related outcomes. However, a limited number of research studies are available emphasizing the overall…
Abstract
Purpose
Empowering leadership has a wide range of positive individual employee-related outcomes. However, a limited number of research studies are available emphasizing the overall organization-related outcomes. The major aim of this study is to delve into the function of organizational identification and intellectual capital (structural, relational and human) in mediating the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational innovativeness. Depending upon the resource-based view theory, this study comprehensively investigates the sequential effects of empowered leadership on the mediating roles of organizational identification and intellectual capital in organizational innovativeness.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire, which got 337 responses from telecom employees. To evaluate the hypotheses, the data were analyzed in SEM-M-Plus using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that empowering leadership impacts organizational innovativeness with the sequential mediation of organizational identification and intellectual capital (structural, human and social).
Practical implications
Organizations can identify and encourage leaders who exhibit empowering behaviors such as delegating responsibilities, providing autonomy and fostering a sense of ownership among employees. Also, organizations can foster intellectual capital by providing opportunities for learning, training and development. Additionally, knowledge sharing and collaboration can help to enhance the intellectual capital of employees.
Originality/value
While much research has been conducted on empowering leadership, the continued development of knowledge and the emergence of new perspectives related to identification and intellectual capital highlights the importance of exploring alternative paths that have been overlooked. Therefore, there is a pressing need to conduct research that takes into account these additional factors.
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