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1 – 8 of 8Reuel Johnmark Dakung, John Munene, Waswa Balunywa, Joseph Ntayi and Mohammed Ngoma
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of universities in preparing disabled students to become entrepreneurially inclined after graduation with the aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of universities in preparing disabled students to become entrepreneurially inclined after graduation with the aim of developing an entrepreneurial inclination (EI) model.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was employed using 220 disabled universities’ students in the north-central Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and structural equation model. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 22.
Findings
The findings buttress the significant position of universities in promotion entrepreneurial spirit. It revealed that the university’s role (UR), entrepreneurship education (EE) and role models (RMs) have a positive influence on disabled students’ EI. Universities that make provisions for entrepreneurship infrastructure, knowledge and RMs to disabled students will boost their EI. Second, the more lecturers and RMs inspire students, method of teaching and demonstrating enthusiasm are applied in the teaching of entrepreneurship, the better it prepares students for entrepreneurial career after graduation.
Research limitations/implications
The study is only restricted to Federal Universities in the North-Central Nigeria. Further research could be conducted to cover other tertiary institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Furthermore, the study employed the cross-sectional approach. A longitudinal approach should be employed to study the trend over a period of at least two years. Finally, the factors identified in triggering EI may not be sufficient enough in explaining the phenomenon. There are other factors that may contribute in influencing EI of the disabled students that were not part of this study.
Practical implications
This study indicates a number of implications for the universities and policy makers. Specifically, EE, UR and RMs make significant contributions to inclination for disabled students. These factors are key for universities in Nigeria to consider in preparing these students to become entrepreneurial graduates. Policy makers and other stakeholders need to develop keen interest in designing entrepreneurship curriculum to accommodate the specific needs of students with disabilities.
Originality/value
This study is the first in Nigeria to empirically test the relationship between UR, EE and EI as well as the moderating effect of RMs among universities’ disabled students.
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Victor Daniel-Vasconcelos, Maisa de Souza Ribeiro and Vicente Lima Crisóstomo
This study aims to investigate the association between the presence of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) disclosure, as…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the association between the presence of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) disclosure, as well as the moderating role of gender diversity in this relation.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of 897 annual observations from 238 firms from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru for 2018–2020. The data were collected from the Refinitiv database. The proposed model and hypotheses were tested using the feasible generalized least squares estimation technique with heteroscedasticity and panel-specific AR1 autocorrelation.
Findings
The results reveal that the presence of CSR committees positively influences the SDGs. Gender diversity positively moderates the relationship between CSR committees and SDGs. Leverage and firm size also positively impact the SDGs. On the other hand, board size and CEO duality negatively affect SDGs disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the scope of stakeholder theory by suggesting that CSR committees and gender diversity enable a better relationship for the firm with its stakeholders.
Practical implications
The findings support policymakers and managers in improving sustainability disclosure. In addition, the results demonstrate the importance of CSR committees and gender diversity to meet the stakeholders' demands.
Social implications
This study demonstrates how firms can improve sustainability issues through gender diversity and CSR committees.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study complements previous literature by being the first to examine the moderating effect of gender diversity on the association between CSR committees and SDGs disclosure in the Latin American context.
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Cristina-Alexandra Trifan, Roxane de Waegh, Yunzi Zhang and Can-Seng Ooi
This paper explores the collaborative dynamics and dimensions within a virtual multi-cultural and interdisciplinary workplace. The study focusses on the use of online…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the collaborative dynamics and dimensions within a virtual multi-cultural and interdisciplinary workplace. The study focusses on the use of online communication technologies to enhance social inclusion and networking within academia.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses an autoethnographic approach to draw on the personal experiences of a team of four scholars, including three early-career researchers and a senior scholar. Their reflections on their academic positionality and the institutional constraints reveal both the strengths and vulnerabilities of collaborating in a virtual workplace.
Findings
The findings offer insights into the complexities of navigating social dynamics, such as delegating responsibilities, organising meetings across various time zones and encouraging continuous collaboration, inclusivity and effective communication during an extensive timeline. As a result, their experiences revealed that a virtual workplace culture with similar and different attributes to a “normal” workplace emerged.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates how to create an effective and inclusive virtual workplace by exemplifying best practices in academia and providing practical guidance for individuals and institutions based on honest, co-produced autoethnographic reflections of the authors’ lived experiences.
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Tourism on wellness is a rapidly expanding segment of the travel industry; nevertheless, it is still in its infancy, and more study research is needed to develop a scientific…
Abstract
Purpose
Tourism on wellness is a rapidly expanding segment of the travel industry; nevertheless, it is still in its infancy, and more study research is needed to develop a scientific foundation for health and wellness tourism. The study uses bibliometric indicators like as citations to determine the field structure on wellness tourism from 1998 to 2021, and the VOSviewer software to map the significant trends in wellness tourism (WT) area, to examine the present situation.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach this objective, the theme of “wellness tourism” was searched in the “Scopus” database, and bibliometrics data on the publications were obtained. In total, 414 papers were found during the initial search, which was then narrowed according to the criteria. Using this strategy, the author discovered 386 records, and after removing 4 duplicates and 1 irrelevant document, the refining produced 381 related documents. The most-cited papers, significant authors, co-citation of references, sources and authors were all investigated for the publications related to WT.
Findings
According to this report, research into wellness tourism has increased in recent years. The authors discovered two papers with over 238 “Scopus” citations and a total of 10 studies with 1414 citations. According to Scopus, the document Napier et al. receives 36.5% of citations each year. There were a total of 804 authors who published about WT between 1998 and 2021, with Smith, M, Voigt, c, and Puczkó, L being the most-cited reference authors in the subject. Han h. has the highest index of 56 of all the authors.
Research limitations/implications
The “Scopus” database was used for bibliometric analysis, although the VOSviewer was used exclusively. This considered as a first study to utilize a bibliometric method to address this research gap, identifying the tools, journals, and, most crucially, conceptual subdomains like spa, yoga, therapy, spirituality and trekking that will be significant in future research.
Originality/value
Using a bibliometric analytic approach, this article looked at papers on wellness tourism published between 1998 and 2021. Thus, its goal is to learn more about wellness tourism and to enlighten wellness tourism scholars on the field's structure.
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Nkosivile Welcome Madinga, Jo Blanckensee, Lauren Longhurst and Nqobile Bundwini
In the wake of lockdown regulations and limited mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, dining habits shifted towards usage of food delivery apps to avoid physical interaction…
Abstract
Purpose
In the wake of lockdown regulations and limited mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, dining habits shifted towards usage of food delivery apps to avoid physical interaction. Nonetheless, it is unknown whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an influence on the adoption of food delivery apps. Therefore, this study examined factors influencing the adoption of food delivery apps during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the moderating effects of education and age.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 282 food delivery application users in South Africa using a web-based survey. Partial least square structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the hypotheses, while partial least squares multigroup analysis was used to examine the moderating effect of education level and age.
Findings
The results indicated that perceived ease of use has a significant impact on perceived usefulness and attitudes, perceived usefulness has an impact on attitudes and continuous intention, attitude influences continuous intention and social pressure and convenience influence attitudes. The perceived COVID-19 threat had no impact on attitudes, and education and age had no significant impact on any relationships. The findings are imperative for restaurants and mobile application designers, as they enable more effective strategic management planning.
Originality/value
This study is the first paper to empirically employ technology acceptance model to analyse the adoption of food delivery applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its uniqueness is in examining situational influence associated with the pandemic such as social pressure, perceived COVID-19 threat and convenience.
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The research aims to understand how smart speakers are perceived by their actual and potential users, their attitude towards smart speakers and consequently their intention to use…
Abstract
Purpose
The research aims to understand how smart speakers are perceived by their actual and potential users, their attitude towards smart speakers and consequently their intention to use them.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to test the research hypotheses through data coming from a structured questionnaire.
Findings
The results show that the higher the importance attributed to usefulness and ease of use, the higher the positive attitude that in turn positively affects the intention to use smart speakers. A significant relationship also emerged between task technology fit and attitude towards smart speakers, as well as between perceived enjoyment and attitude towards smart speakers. Perceived privacy risk, innovativeness and social attraction have been found to not significantly impact attitudes towards smart speakers.
Originality/value
Although several academic studies have focused on various aspects of smart technologies, only a few studies discuss the factors that push consumers to use smart speakers for activities related to commercial transactions. Therefore, looking at the rapid rise of smart speakers for daily tasks and the gradual acceptance of voice interaction with digital tools, the authors proposed a study about Italian users' intention to use smart speakers. Specifically, to fill the gap in the existing literature, the authors applied a SEM approach to identify utilitarian and hedonic benefits that motivate the use of these devices.
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Shafique Ahmed and Samiran Sur
In the ever fast-changing modern world, through the use of digital banking services (DBS), the old concept of banking in a traditional way has been completely changed. It was made…
Abstract
Purpose
In the ever fast-changing modern world, through the use of digital banking services (DBS), the old concept of banking in a traditional way has been completely changed. It was made possible through the use of modern artificial intelligence embedded technologies. It was done to meet the ever-growing demands of customers through more user-friendly and time-saving uses of technologies. This paper aims to uncover and analyse the factors affecting the adoption of digital banking services by rural micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). MSME is one of the most active sectors in India. It plays an important role in the economic development of the country through exports and domestic supplies and by creating employment opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted using a questionnaire survey. In total, 148 rural MSME owners were considered for the analysis in this study. Rural MSMEs in India are way behind in using digital banking services than their urban counterparts. The present study uses IBM SPSS and AMOS to shed light on the prevalent factors that influence the attitude to use digital banking services.
Findings
It is found out that convenience (which includes perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), perceived self-efficacy, demonetization, performance expectancy and pandemic effect have a significant effect on the attitude to adopt DBS. The findings of the study will provide deeper insights for the banks as well as different government agencies to revamp their strategies in changing the financial landscape of the country through a “cashless economy”.
Practical implications
Demonetization, a boom in eCommerce in India, pandemic-related lockdowns or restrictions and the government’s push for the digital economy will aid the use of DBS at a faster pace. The outcome of the study will help both the government and the financial institutions to chalk out strategies to cater to the rural MSMEs in embracing DBS.
Originality/value
The use of digital services for banking in India is in a nascent stage, but the rate of adoption is increasing at a cyclonic speed. Affordable electronic devices, cheap internet and different medium of using DBS are fuelling the rapid increase; yet, limited research focuses on the differences in the rate of acceptance of digital banking services concerning rural MSMEs.
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Nadia Di Giacomo, James Guthrie and Federica Farneti
This paper aims to focus on a global consulting company and examine how it struggled to establish an effective environmental management control system for carbon emissions for its…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on a global consulting company and examine how it struggled to establish an effective environmental management control system for carbon emissions for its employees’ air travel. The organisation was motivated to reduce its carbon emissions both to comply with regulation and to enhance or maintain corporate reputation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes a case study approach, examining internal and external documents as well as conducting interviews with senior staff.
Findings
The case study investigates how Beta’s management implemented a system to reduce carbon emissions. The organisation focused on air travel, but the study finds that employee travel preferences did not radically change. Rather than reduction in carbon emissions, as planned by head office, air travel carbon emissions actually increased during the period, and, as a consequence, the reported reduction targets were significantly adjusted downwards to meet the new realities.
Practical/implications
The study has implications for both policy and practice for organisations seeking to improve their sustainability performance.
Originality/value
The study responds to calls in the literature to undertake research to identify how management practices might reduce negative sustainability impacts, as there is little evidence of what management practices and accounting tools are being adopted, particularly in relation to carbon emissions from air travel. The paper adds to the creation of new accounting, giving visibility to carbon emission management through case study analysis.
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