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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: 2 January 2024

Stephan M. Wagner, M. Ramkumar, Gopal Kumar and Tobias Schoenherr

In the aftermath of disasters, humanitarian actors need to coordinate their activities based on accurate information about the disaster site, its surrounding environment, the…

Abstract

Purpose

In the aftermath of disasters, humanitarian actors need to coordinate their activities based on accurate information about the disaster site, its surrounding environment, the victims and survivors and the supply of and demand for relief supplies. In this study, the authors examine the characteristics of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and those of disaster relief operations to achieve information visibility and actor coordination for effective and efficient humanitarian relief operations.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the contingent resource-based view (CRBV), the authors present a model of task-technology fit (TTF) that explains how the use of RFID can improve visibility and coordination. Survey data were collected from humanitarian practitioners in India, and partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to analyze the model.

Findings

The characteristics of both RFID technology and disaster relief operations significantly influence TTF, and TTF predicts RFID usage in disaster relief operations, providing visibility and coordination. TTF is also a mediator between the characteristics of RFID technology and disaster relief operations and between visibility and coordination.

Social implications

The many recent humanitarian disasters have demonstrated the critical importance of effective and efficient humanitarian supply chain and logistics strategies and operations in assisting disaster-affected populations. The active and appropriate use of technology, including RFID, can help make disaster response more effective and efficient.

Originality/value

Humanitarian actors value RFID technology because of its ability to improve the visibility and coordination of relief operations. This study brings a new perspective to the benefits of RFID technology and sheds light on its antecedents. The study thus expands the understanding of technology in humanitarian operations.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 November 2023

John H. Bickford

This content analysis examines the historical representation of Margaret Sanger within trade books. From the framework of the historiography, this paper unpacks how common…

Abstract

Purpose

This content analysis examines the historical representation of Margaret Sanger within trade books. From the framework of the historiography, this paper unpacks how common curricular resources depict an American icon with a complicated past.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the author conducted a content analysis of biographies and expository compilations featuring Sanger. The entire data pool were sampled and analyzed.

Findings

The trade books, particularly the biographies, historically represented Sanger in most categories. Sanger's international direct action and eugenics were two misrepresented areas. Expository compilations, with more limited space than biographies, contained more omissions and minimized or vague depictions of key areas. Findings did not appear dependent upon date of publication.

Originality/value

This study explores an icon of America's free speech battles and birth control rights at a time when culture wars are shaping current events. No researchers have previously explored Sanger's historical representation within trade books.

Details

Social Studies Research and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1933-5415

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. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2023

Matti Haverila, Kai Christian Haverila and Caitlin McLaughlin

This paper aims to examine project management segments based on customer satisfaction drivers and loyalty rather than traditional demographic or behavioural variables.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine project management segments based on customer satisfaction drivers and loyalty rather than traditional demographic or behavioural variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered over 18 consecutive months, and 3,129 surveys were completed using a questionnaire. The statistical methods included partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling, finite mixture segmentation, prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS) and multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA).

Findings

The findings indicate the existence of three segments among system delivery project customers based on the differences in the strengths of the path coefficients in the customer-centric structural model. In Segment 1, satisfaction based on the proposal was crucial for loyalty, with the value-for-money construct negatively impacting the repurchase intent construct. Segment 2 had a solid value-for-money orientation. In Segment 3, the critical path indicated that satisfaction drove repurchase intention, with satisfaction based mainly on the installation.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the segmentation theory by introducing a new way to segment the systems delivery projects customers based on the perceived strength of the relationships in a customer-centric structural model, which aligns with traditional segmentation theory in a way that most segmentation analyses do not. A new segmentation approach to the domain of project management theory is presented. Based on the results, treating the system delivery project customer base as a single homogenous group can lead to managerially misleading conclusions.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2023

Chao Feng, Jinjun Yu, Yajing Fan and Hui Chen

Integrating transaction costs economics and task-technology fit theory, this study distinguishes two categories of social media–enabled interactions, namely task-related…

Abstract

Purpose

Integrating transaction costs economics and task-technology fit theory, this study distinguishes two categories of social media–enabled interactions, namely task-related interactions and tie-related interactions, and explores the match between these two and firms' use of contracts in achieving safeguarding and coordinating purposes in interfirm governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. In Study 1, this study collaborated with a professional market research firm and collected responses from Chinese manufacturing firms in a survey. In Study 2, this study designed a scenario-based experiment and collected 239 participants from the Credamo platform.

Findings

This study categorized social media–enabled interactions into task-related interactions and tie-related interactions and conducted two studies to reveal that the safeguarding purpose of contract specificity is amplified by tie-related interactions, whereas the coordinating purpose of contract specificity is strengthened by task-related interactions.

Research limitations/implications

This study assumes that firms permit and encourage the use of social media. However, some firms might prohibit the use of social media due to risk issues, or their partners may be prohibited from using social media.

Practical implications

Given that social media–enabled interactions have joint effects with contracts in achieving safeguarding and coordinating purposes, a firm's employees should match their goals with an appropriate type of social media–enabled interactions.

Originality/value

This study enriches the interfirm governance literature by uncovering the roles of these two types of interactions in matching contract specificity to achieve safeguarding and coordinating purposes, which provides actionable insights for managers in governing interfirm relationships.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 July 2023

Robert Gandy, Peter Wolstencroft, Katherine Geer and Leanne de Main

The recruitment of undergraduate students within English universities is of vital importance to both the academic success and the financial stability of the organisation. Despite…

Abstract

Purpose

The recruitment of undergraduate students within English universities is of vital importance to both the academic success and the financial stability of the organisation. Despite the primacy of the task, there has been a dearth of research looking at related performance and how to ensure that the process is optimised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of variation both within a university and between different universities. The reliance that individual programmes and/or universities place on the Clearing process is key; given its uncertainty, resource demands and timing shortly before students take up their places.

Design/methodology/approach

The Nomogramma di Gandy diagrammatical approach utilises readily available data to analyse universities’ performance in recruiting students to different programmes, and the degree to which they each rely of the Clearing process. Inter-university performance was investigated on a whole-student intake basis for a sample of English universities, representative of type and region.

Findings

The study found that there were disparate patterns for the many programmes within the pilot university and also disparate patterns between different types of universities across England. Accordingly, universities should internally benchmark their programmes to inform both strategic and tactical decision-making. Similarly, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service benchmarking inter-university patterns could inform the overall sector.

Originality/value

The approach and findings provide lessons for analysing student recruitment which could be critical to universities’ academic and financial health, in an increasingly competitive environment.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 April 2023

Esther Julia Korkor Attiogbe, Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, O.A.T.F. Kwapong and John Boateng

Feedback is crucial in a learning process, particularly in an online interaction where both learners and instructors are distantly located. Thus, this paper aims to investigate…

Abstract

Purpose

Feedback is crucial in a learning process, particularly in an online interaction where both learners and instructors are distantly located. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the association between feedback strategies, embedded course syllabus and learning improvement in the Sakai Learning Management System.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a survey design to collect cross-sectional data from adult distance learning students. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a standard multiple regression model in Stata.

Findings

The results show that feedback strategies (timing, mode, quality and quantity) and embedded course syllabus have a significant relationship with learning improvement. However, the feedback strategy – target – is not significantly related to learning improvement though it is the highest feedback strategy.

Originality/value

This paper has contributed to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence to support the constructivism theory of learning from a distance learning perspective in a developing country. The study has shown that if the feedback strategies are well managed and applied, they would make a considerable impact on distance education students' academic pursuits. Hence, the paper provides a pedagogical foundation for short and long-term distance learning policy.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Eliza Sharma and John Ben Prince

This study aims to measure the impact of loneliness, physical activity (PA) and self-esteem on the health of retired people and also checks the moderating role of living…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to measure the impact of loneliness, physical activity (PA) and self-esteem on the health of retired people and also checks the moderating role of living arrangements and gender of the elderly people on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Four standardized scales were used in the study to measure four different constructs: Self-Worth Questionnaire, UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, General Health Questionnaire-28 and Physical Activity Scale for Elders. Structural equation modelling was applied to the four constructs.

Findings

The study concluded that loneliness has a negative and significant impact on the health of retired people, while self-esteem and PA have a positive and significant impact on their health.

Originality/value

The study is among the few to include multiple instruments to measure abstract parameters in the field of health care. The paper brings out implications not just for academicians but also for policymakers, considering the complex situation prevailing in the emerging economy.

Details

Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-8308

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2023

Abdullah Alajmi and Andrew C. Worthington

This study aims to examine the link between boards and audit committees and firm performance in Kuwaiti listed firms in the context of recent and extensive corporate governance…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the link between boards and audit committees and firm performance in Kuwaiti listed firms in the context of recent and extensive corporate governance regulatory reform.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel data regression analysis with fixed effects and clustered standard errors of firm performance for 61–97 listed industrial and services firms in Kuwait over a seven-year period. The dependent variables are the returns on assets and equity, the debt-to-equity ratio and leverage and Tobin’s Q and the independent variables comprise board of directors and audit committee characteristics, including size, the number of meetings and the numbers of independent and outside board and expert committee members. Firm size, subsidiary status and cash flow serve as control variables.

Findings

Mixed results with respect to the characteristics of the board of directors. Board size and independent and outsider board members positively relate only to Tobin’s Q and insiders only to debt to equity. For audit committee characteristics, committee size, independence and expertise positively relate to the return on equity and committee size and expertise only to Tobin’s Q. Of the five performance measures considered, board and audit committee characteristics together best determine Tobin’s Q.

Research limitations/implications

Data from a single country limits generalisability and control variables necessarily limited in a developing market context. Need for qualitative insights into corporate governance reform as a complement to conventional quantitative analysis. In combining accounting and market information, Tobin’s Q appears best able to recognise the performance benefits of good corporate governance in terms of internal organisational change.

Practical implications

The recent corporate governance code and guidelines reforms exert a mixed impact on firm performance, with audit committees, not boards, of most influence. But recent reforms implied most change to boards of directors. One suggestion is that non-market reform may have been unneeded given existing market pressure on listed firms and firms anticipating regulatory change.

Social implications

Kuwait’s corporate governance reforms codified corporate governance practices already in place among many of its firms in pursuit of organisational legitimacy, and while invoking substantial change to audit committees, involved minor change to firm performance, at least in the short term. Some firms may also have delisted in expectation of stronger corporate governance requirements. Regardless, these direct and indirect processes both improved the overall quality of listed firm corporate governance and performance in Kuwait.

Originality/value

Seminal analysis of corporate governance reforms in Kuwait, which have rapidly progressed from no corporate governance code and guidelines to an initially voluntary and then compulsory regime. Only known analysis to incorporate both board of directors and audit committee characteristics. Reveals studies of the corporate governance–firm performance relationship may face difficulty in model specification, and empirical significance, given the complexity of corporate governance codes and guidelines, leads in changing firm behaviour and self-selection of firms into and out of regulated markets.

Details

Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-2517

Keywords

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