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1 – 10 of 259Aida Guerra, Dan Jiang and Xiangyun Du
Student engagement has become increasingly significant in sustainability education for engineers because it enables future engineers to develop competencies, knowledge and values…
Abstract
Purpose
Student engagement has become increasingly significant in sustainability education for engineers because it enables future engineers to develop competencies, knowledge and values relevant to acting for sustainability. Therefore, this paper aims to examine characteristics of student engineer engagement with sustainability and to discuss the meanings of this concept.
Design/methodology/approach
To build a more holistic picture of student engineer engagement with sustainability, this study followed a literature review approach to search, screen and appraise relevant journal articles on this topic. As a result of this research, 30 articles were identified as eligible.
Findings
Based on the theoretical framework for student engagement with sustainability, newly synthesized here, and the content analysis of the 30 papers included in this study, four patterns of engagement were identified: intrapersonal engagement, inter-relational engagement, engagement as connection and disconnection and situated engagement.
Practical implications
This review provides practical recommendations about how to support the engagement of student engineers with sustainability at the levels of the individual, staff, educational programmes and associated curricula. Future research directions are also discussed.
Originality/value
This study contributes a theoretical framework synthesizing student engagement theory with sustainability education. It also describes current characteristics of student engineers’ engagement with sustainability.
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Kathrin Mayr, Teresa Schwendtner, Christoph Teller and Ernst Gittenberger
Unethically behaving customers deviating from morally acceptable norms have posed an additional challenge to retailers, frontline employees (FLEs) and other customers in recent…
Abstract
Purpose
Unethically behaving customers deviating from morally acceptable norms have posed an additional challenge to retailers, frontline employees (FLEs) and other customers in recent crisis-dominant environments. While research concerning customer behaviour ethicality focusses on purchasing modes and consumption behaviour, unethicality in all its facets receives limited attention, leaving dimensions of unethical customer behaviour (UCB) and effective managerial strategies unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to describe dimensions of UCB, investigate its causes, explore its consequences for customers and FLEs and infer practical implications for retail management by collecting customers' and FLEs' views in collaboration of each other.
Design/methodology/approach
Due to the explorative nature of this research, qualitative semi-structured interviews with 45 customers and 51 FLEs were conducted, following a content analytical approach and the establishment of inter-rater reliability coefficients.
Findings
The findings reveal multiple UCB dimensions operating on situational and individual behavioural levels, targeting mainly employees, followed by customers. The reasons for UCB arising correspond to customers' attitudes, social influences and egoistic motives. UCB imposes risks of financial losses for retailers, due to the wasting of resources as a consequence of employees' stress and emotional exhaustion, demanding managerial boundary-spanning activities. Further, it negatively impacts customers' shopping behaviours, provoking online shopping and shopping avoidance.
Originality/value
The study fills the research gap regarding perceived unethicality of customer behaviour by describing and explaining differing forms of UCB, considering customers' and FLEs' views in retail stores. It develops a UCB framework, identifies UCB dimensions beyond current academic research and derives specific practical implications to make the phenomenon manageable for retailers. The originality of this paper lies in the synthesis of the three UCB dimensions, consisting of antecedents, forms of UCB and consequences for customers and FLEs.
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Aida Guerra, Juebei Chen, Xiangyun Du, Helle Nielsen and Lone Kørnøv
The integration of ESD is a complex problem. It calls for an innovative, student-centred curriculum, as well as professional learning and agency, by which university teachers feel…
Abstract
Purpose
The integration of ESD is a complex problem. It calls for an innovative, student-centred curriculum, as well as professional learning and agency, by which university teachers feel empowered to change their practice and direct their peers and institutions towards ESD. This study aims to explore what university teachers consider to be the most important attitudes in supporting their agency to deliver Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) via a Problem Based Learning (PBL) programme.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents a theoretical framework for professional agency comprising three domains: intrapersonal, action and environmental. A Q methodology is adopted to explore university teachers’ perceptions of the most important environmental factors in supporting their ability to deliver ESD via a problem-based learning (PBL) programme. Twenty-eight participants from six Southeast Asian universities took part in a PBL-based professional development programme designed to improve teachers’ ESD- and PBL-based skills and competencies.
Findings
The results indicate that the participants were confident in their ability to implement PBL and saw PBL as an approach suitable for addressing current educational, professional and societal challenges. This study offers a series of recommendations to help university teachers develop their ESD and PBL practices.
Originality/value
Although the literature on human agency is extensive, research surrounding teachers’ professional agency in the context of ESD and PBL in higher education is lacking. The present study addresses this gap by capturing individual teachers’ beliefs, perceptions and views and by using Q methodology to examine the subjectivity of study participants.
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Stutee Mohanty, B.C.M. Patnaik, Ipseeta Satpathy and Suresh Kumar Sahoo
This paper aims to identify, examine, and present an empirical research design of behavioral finance of potential investors during Covid-19.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify, examine, and present an empirical research design of behavioral finance of potential investors during Covid-19.
Design/methodology/approach
A well-structured questionnaire was designed; a survey was conducted among potential investors using convenience sampling, and 200 valid responses were collected. The research work uses multiple regression and discriminant function analysis to evaluate the influence of cognitive factors on the financial decision-making of investors.
Findings
Recency and familiarity bias are proven to have the highest significant impact on the financial decisions of investors followed by confirmation bias. Overconfidence bias had a negligible effect on the decision-making process of the respondents and found insignificant.
Research limitations/implications
Covid-19 is a temporary phase that may lead to changes in financial behavior and investors’ decisions in the near future.
Practical implications
The paper will help academicians, scholars, analysts, practitioners, policymakers and firms dealing with capital markets to execute their job responsibilities with respect to the cognitive bias in terms of taking financial decisions.
Originality/value
The present investigation attempts to fill the gap in the literature on the intended topic because it is evident from literature on the chosen subject that no study has been undertaken to evaluate the impact of cognitive biases on financial behavior of investors during Covid-19.
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Mousa Alsheyab, Nela Filimon and Francesc Fusté-Forné
From a hospitality and tourism perspective, the purpose of this study is to analyse the case of Jordan by looking at the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
From a hospitality and tourism perspective, the purpose of this study is to analyse the case of Jordan by looking at the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the hospitality industry and their contribution to the management of the pandemic crisis, with a special focus on large hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The method focuses on a qualitative study based on ten in-depth interviews with senior managers of five-star hotels in Jordan, fully used as quarantine facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The study reveals how and why the implementation of CSR practices contributes to the crisis management in Jordan, also highlighting the role of the managers and the hotels’ organizational cultures.
Originality/value
Drawing from the unique case of Jordan, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which analyses the close relationships between crisis and hospitality management from a CSR perspective, and the impact of organizational cultures and ethical strategies on local stakeholders.
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Armando Calabrese, Antonio D'Uffizi, Nathan Levialdi Ghiron, Luca Berloco, Elaheh Pourabbas and Nathan Proudlove
The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology entails the integration of service design (SD) and action research (AR) methodologies, characterized by iterative phases that systematically alternate between action and reflective processes, fostering cycles of change and learning. Within this framework, stakeholders are engaged through semi-structured interviews, while the existing and envisioned processes are delineated and represented using BPMN 2.0. These methodological steps emphasize the development of an autonomous, patient-centric web application alongside the implementation of an adaptable and patient-oriented scheduling system. Also, business processes simulation is employed to measure key performance indicators of processes and test for potential improvements. This method is implemented in the context of the CP addressing transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), within a publicly funded hospital setting.
Findings
The methodology integrating SD and AR enables the detection of pivotal bottlenecks within diagnostic CPs and proposes optimal corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted patient care, all the while advancing the digitalization of diagnostic CP management. This study contributes to theoretical discussions by emphasizing the criticality of process optimization, the transformative potential of digitalization in healthcare and the paramount importance of user-centric design principles, and offers valuable insights into healthcare management implications.
Originality/value
The study’s relevance lies in its ability to enhance healthcare practices without necessitating disruptive and resource-intensive process overhauls. This pragmatic approach aligns with the imperative for healthcare organizations to improve their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, making the study’s findings relevant.
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This paper aims to promote the higher quality development of high-tech enterprises in China. While science and technology have greatly promoted human civilization, resources have…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to promote the higher quality development of high-tech enterprises in China. While science and technology have greatly promoted human civilization, resources have been excessively consumed and the environment has been sharply polluted. Therefore, it is particularly important for current enterprises to make use of scientific and technological innovation to maximize the benefits of mankind, minimize the loss of nature, and promote the sustainable development of our country.
Design/methodology/approach
By using DEA-Banker-Charnes-Cooper (BCC) model and DEA-Malmquist model, this paper comprehensively examines the innovation efficiency of high-tech enterprises from both static and dynamic perspectives, and conducts a provincial comparative study with the panel data of ten representative provinces from 2011 to 2020.
Findings
The research findings are as follows: the rapid number increase of high-tech enterprises in most provinces (cities) is accompanied by an ineffective input–output efficiency; the quality of high-tech enterprises needs to comprehensively examine both input–output efficiency and total factor productivity; and there is not a positive correlation between element investment and innovation performance.
Research limitations/implications
Because the DEA model used in this paper assumes that the improvement direction of invalid units is to ensure that the input ratio of various production factors remains unchanged but sometimes the proportion of scientific and technological activities personnel and the total research and development investment is not constant. In the future, the nonradial DEA model can be considered for further research. Due to historical data statistics, more provinces, cities and longer panel data are difficult to obtain. The samples studied in this paper mainly refer to the provinces and cities that ranked first in the number of national high-tech enterprises in 2020. Limited by the number of samples, DEA analysis failed to select more input and output indicators. In the future, with the accumulation of statistical data, the existing efficiency analysis will be further optimized.
Originality/value
Aiming at the misunderstanding of emphasizing quantity and neglecting quality in the cultivation of high-tech enterprises, this paper comprehensively uses DEA-BCC model and DEA Malmquist index decomposition method to make a comprehensive comparative study on the development of high-tech enterprises in ten representative provinces (cities) from two aspects of static efficiency evaluation and dynamic efficiency evaluation.
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Shanzhong Du and June Cao
Industrial robots are of great significance to the long-term development of family firms. Drawing on the lens of the principal–principal conflict, this paper aims to investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
Industrial robots are of great significance to the long-term development of family firms. Drawing on the lens of the principal–principal conflict, this paper aims to investigate the influence of family non-executive directors on robot adoption in Chinese family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper selects the family firms in China from 2011 to 2019 as the sample. Furthermore, the authors manually collected the family non-executive directors and constructed the robot adoption variable utilizing data sourced from the International Federation of Robotics. In brief, this paper constructs a comprehensive framework of the mechanisms and additional tests pertaining to the influence of family non-executive directors on robot adoption.
Findings
This paper finds that family non-executive directors can promote robot adoption in family firms. The underlying mechanism analysis shows that family non-executive directors promote robot adoption by exerting financial and human effects. This paper further finds that the characteristics of family non-executive directors, such as kinship, differential shareholding and excessive directors, affect the role of family non-executive directors. Finally, robot adoption can improve future performance, and the promotional effect is more evident when family members are non-executive directors.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the related literature from the following two aspects. Firstly, this paper decomposes the types of family directors to understand the role of family non-executive directors, which challenges the assumption that family board members are homogeneous in family firms. Second, this paper expands the research on the factors that influence robot adoption in emerging economies from the micro-enterprise level. In addition, the findings in this paper have managerial implications for family firms to optimize their strategic decisions with the help of the mode of board right allocation.
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Elena Cerdá-Mansilla, Natalia Rubio and Sara Campo
This study aims to analyze a backchannel account on news of the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic, with information not disseminated in official media due to the social…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze a backchannel account on news of the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic, with information not disseminated in official media due to the social alarm it might cause and the negative image of government management. Specifically, it examines acceptance and dissemination of this type of content in a period of lack of information, while reflecting on what would constitute proper management of this type of channel.
Design/methodology/approach
First, based on a literature review, this study classifies possible explanatory variables of online content dissemination into content richness and psychological content. Second, this study performs sentiment analysis of the Twitter backchannel account @COVID_19NEWS and use Qualitative Comparative Analysis to find causal configurations of variables that obtained a high rate of retweets.
Findings
The results reveal predominance of one combination of three factors in backchannel information diffusion: emotional, identifying and video content. Other interesting combinations of factors were shown to be attractive enough to contribute to success of the tweets.
Practical implications
Knowledge of the main configurations that attract information dissemination in backchannel accounts is useful for public management of a health crisis such as the Covid-19 outbreak. Rather than suppressing these channels, the authors discuss different solutions.
Originality/value
This study advances scholarship on backchannel communications in emergency situations, providing insights to understand and manage such channels.
Propósito
Este estudio analiza una cuenta extraoficial sobre noticias del coronavirus al inicio de la pandemia, con información no difundida en los medios oficiales por su posible repercusión en la alarma social y la imagen negativa de la gestión gubernamental. Concretamente examina la aceptación y difusión de este contenido en un periodo de desinformación, así como reflexiona sobre la gestión de este tipo de canales.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
En primer lugar, en base a la revisión de la literatura, clasificamos las variables explicativas según la riqueza de contenido y el contenido psicológico. En segundo lugar, sobre la cuenta extraoficial de @COVID_19NEWS en Twitter, realizamos análisis de sentimiento y utilizamos Análisis Comparativo Cualitativo (QCA) para encontrar configuraciones causales de variables que obtuvieron una alta tasa de retweets.
Hallazgos
Los resultados revelan la importancia de una combinación de tres factores en la difusión de información del canal secundario: contenido emocional, identificativo y video. Otras combinaciones de factores también contribuyeron al éxito del tweet.
Implicaciones prácticas
Estas configuraciones podrían ser útiles para la gestión pública ante una crisis sanitaria como la Covid-19, prestando atención a los factores cuya configuración atrae la difusión de información en las RRSS. En lugar de suprimir estos canales, se presentan soluciones para garantizar una colaboración eficaz.
Originalidad/valor
Este estudio realiza una contribución académica a las comunicaciones extraoficiales en situaciones de emergencia, proporcionando información para comprender y gestionar este tipo de canales.
Palabras claves
Covid-19, Coronavirus, Canal extraoficial, Twitter, Análisis cualitativo comparado
Tipo de papel
Trabajo de investigación
目的
在新冠疫情初期, 由于可能引起社会恐慌和政府管理部门的负面形象, 官方媒体缺少相关的新闻报道。本文研究了在这种官方信息匮乏的危机时期, 非正式渠道(backchannel)对于新冠病毒内容的接受和传播情况, 本文同时反思了如何对这类非正式渠道进行正确的管理。
研究设计
基于文献综述, 我们先将在线内容传播的可能解释变量分为内容丰富度和心理内容这两个方面。其次, 我们对推特上的非正式渠道账户@COVID_19NEWS发布的内容进行情感分析, 并使用定性比较分析法来寻找内容获得高转发率的原因。
研究结果
结果显示, 对于非正式渠道信息的成功传播, 情绪化、具有辩认度和包含视频内容这三个要素的组合占主导地位。此外, 其他要素的组合也有来助于推文的成功传播和扩散。
实践意义
了解非正式渠道吸引信息传播的主要原因, 将有利于应对健康危机(例如Covid-19爆发)和进行公共管理。文本讨论了不同的解决方案, 而不是简单地压制这些非正式渠道。
原创性/价值
这项研究推进了危机背景下非正式渠道传播的学术研究, 为理解和管理这类非正式渠道提供了见解。
关键词 - Covid-19, 新冠病毒, 非正式渠道, 推特, 定性比较分析
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Yang Li, Yaochen Qin, Liqun Ma and Ziwu Pan
The ecological environment of the Loess Plateau, China, is extremely fragile under the context of global warming. Over the past two decades, the vegetation of the Loess Plateau…
Abstract
Purpose
The ecological environment of the Loess Plateau, China, is extremely fragile under the context of global warming. Over the past two decades, the vegetation of the Loess Plateau has undergone great changes. This paper aims to clarify the response mechanisms of vegetation to climate change, to provide support for the restoration and environmental treatment of vegetation on the Loess Plateau.
Design/methodology/approach
The Savitsky–Golay (S-G) filtering algorithm was used to reconstruct time series of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) 13A2 data. Combined with trend analysis and partial correlation analysis, the influence of climate change on the phenology and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) during the growing season was described.
Findings
The S-G filtering algorithm is suitable for EVI reconstruction of the Loess Plateau. The date of start of growing season was found to gradually later along the Southeast–Northwest direction, whereas the date of the end of the growing season showed the opposite pattern and the length of the growing season gradually shortened. Vegetation EVI values decreased gradually from Southeast to Northwest. Vegetation changed significantly and showed clear differentiation according to different topographic factors. Vegetation correlated positively with precipitation from April to July and with temperature from August to November.
Originality/value
This study provides technical support for ecological environmental assessment, restoration of regional vegetation coverage and environmental governance of the Loess Plateau over the past two decades. It also provides theoretical support for the prediction model of vegetation phenology changes based on remote sensing data.
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