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1 – 10 of 42Citizens can develop new products in the household sector (HHS), and although HHS innovations are generally valuable to others, they are seldom diffused by the innovator. In order…
Abstract
Purpose
Citizens can develop new products in the household sector (HHS), and although HHS innovations are generally valuable to others, they are seldom diffused by the innovator. In order to provide insight for the understanding of this diffusion failure, this article proposes to introduce the vocational and retirement perspective to consider how the innovator's chronological aging affects her diffusion channel selection. Commercial diffusion of HHS innovations allows older adults to continue a work-related identity. And, a satisfying work experience could enhance older adults' reliance on work for self-worth. Therefore, the relationship between the older HHS innovators and their commercial diffusion as well as the moderating effect of their person–organization (P–O) fit on this relationship was examined.
Design/methodology/approach
This study referred to the standard procedure and utilized a Japanese consumer panel to identify HHS innovators. The criterion of old age was set to 60+ years old. The hypotheses were tested with ordinary least squares regression analysis. The robustness of our findings was checked by analyzing two restricted samples.
Findings
In Japan, older adults are more likely to diffuse their HHS innovators commercially than to peers. This relationship is amplified when the older adults also perceived a P-O fit in their employer firm.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the evidence that older adults can be an important source of innovation. It – for the first time – points out that the vocational and retirement perspective can help researchers consider why a particular diffusion channel is selected and thereby provide insight for understanding when the diffusion failure of HHS innovation is alleviated. The moderating effect of the P–O fit originally suggests the “interdependent life spheres”, that is, older adults' work experience may affect their post-retirement life and their activity in the household sector.
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Madhavi Prashant Patil and Ombretta Romice
In urban studies, understanding how individuals perceive density is a complex challenge due to the subjective nature of this perception, which is influenced by sociocultural…
Abstract
Purpose
In urban studies, understanding how individuals perceive density is a complex challenge due to the subjective nature of this perception, which is influenced by sociocultural, personal and environmental factors. This study addresses these complexities by proposing a systematic framework for comprehending how people perceive density within urban contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology for developing the framework involved a systematic review of existing literature on the perception of density and related concepts, followed by integrating insights from empirical investigations. The framework designed through this process overcomes the limitations identified in previous research and provides a comprehensive guide for studying perceived density in urban environments.
Findings
The successful application of the framework on case studies in Glasgow and international settings enabled the identification of 20 critical spatial factors (buildings, public realm and urban massing) influencing density perception. The research provided insights into the subjective nature of density perception and the impact that spatial characters of urban form play, demonstrating the framework's effectiveness in understanding the impact of urban form, which is the realm of design and planning professions, on individual experiences.
Originality/value
The paper's originality lies in its comprehensive synthesis of the existing knowledge on the perception of density, the development of a user-responsive framework adaptable to future research and its application in case studies of different natures to identify recurrent links between urban form and user-specific constructs.
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Many veterans struggle with the civilian world and the loss of identity associated with leaving the service. This research investigates the Building Heroes Charity's role in…
Abstract
Purpose
Many veterans struggle with the civilian world and the loss of identity associated with leaving the service. This research investigates the Building Heroes Charity's role in assisting service leavers transitioning to civil employment, in the United Kingdom (UK) and what can be learnt from the training and support.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory case study design was chosen to investigate the transition from military to civilian employment. The case study consisted of 12 in-depth interviews consisting of nine veterans, who had attended the Building Heroes courses and three course tutors.
Findings
The Building Heroes Charity does have an important role to fulfill in the transition of military personnel from the service to civilian work. There are positive outcomes that complement the work done by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), but there still needs to be recognition that the needs of veterans do differ by age, transferability of competencies and the financial resources available.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this research are the sample size is small and the majority of the veterans are from the Army. This is mostly because the Army is the largest of the services.
Originality/value
Though there is limited research into the employment of veterans, there is evidence to demonstrate that veterans are more likely to suffer from depression and potential homelessness than nonservice personnel. This research is unique in investigating the role of a charity whose main purpose is to improve the employability of veterans by reducing the competency skills gap between the military and construction industry.
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Iffat Sabir Chaudhry and Angela Espinosa
Despite being a seminal explanation of the workforce emotional experiences, capable of mapping the path from the antecedents to consequences, affective events theory (AET) only…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite being a seminal explanation of the workforce emotional experiences, capable of mapping the path from the antecedents to consequences, affective events theory (AET) only offers a “macrostructure” of a working environment. To date, little is known about the universal features of the work environment that may guide the understanding of imperative work aspects triggering employees’ emotions at work. Hence, the study proposes and validates that Stafford Beer’s viable system model (VSM) can provide a holistic view of the organizational work environment, enabling a comprehensive understanding of work events or factors triggering workforce emotions.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the VSM structural layout is used to fill in the “macrostructure” of the “working environment” in AET to diagnose the functional and relational aspects of the work and the related work events occurring within. Using a deductive approach, 31 work events were adopted to determine the impact of VSM-based work environment events on the employees’ emotional experiences and subsequent work attitudes (job satisfaction) and behaviors (citizenship behavior). To field test the proposed nexus of VSM and AET, the survey was conducted on two hundred and fifteen employees from 39 different organizations. PLS-SEM tested the explanatory power of the suggested VSM’s systemic approach for understanding the affective work environment in totality.
Findings
The findings confirmed that the VSM metalanguage provides a holistic view of the organizational functioning and social connectivity disposing of affective work events, helpful in assessing their aggregate influence on employees’ emotions and work-related outcomes.
Practical implications
The findings identify how employees' emotions can be triggered by everyday work operations and social relations at work, which can affect their extra-role behaviors and necessary work-related attitudes.
Originality/value
The study utilized Beer’s VSM framework based on the systemic principle of “holistic view” for ascertaining the affective work environment and its related features holistically, which filled in well the macrostructure of “work environment features” with micro-structures of organizational inter-related aspects which are yet to be known in AET – a seminal explanation for managing workforce emotions.
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The study investigates the information-related challenges as well as the practices adopted by early-career researchers during transitions between roles and institutions. Its…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the information-related challenges as well as the practices adopted by early-career researchers during transitions between roles and institutions. Its primary goal is to delve into how information behaviors serve as scaffolding during significant life shifts. Moreover, the research aims to provide actionable insights based on this scaffolding concept for individuals navigating transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
This preliminary and exploratory study took a phenomenological approach to examine the role of information seeking and personal information management (PIM) behaviors during life transitions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were held with 15 early-career researchers from various disciplines, who were about to finish their PhDs or had recently graduated.
Findings
By employing information seeking and PIM practices, participants were able to address three main information challenges that arose during the transition process: the timing of information behavior, the nature of information and the social components of the transition. The use of networked and independent information seeking/validation practices enabled to establish a sustainable network of transition-related information, reducing uncertainty. PIM practices helped planning the transition, maintaining information over the long-term and gaining control over personal information.
Originality/value
This study underscores the significance of information behaviors, encompassing both information seeking and PIM, as scaffolding mechanisms during crucial life transitions. It offers essential insights that can guide the creation of impactful interventions and resources. Additionally, the research illuminates the pressing demand for more in-depth exploration in this domain.
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The primary objective of this research is to provide evidence that there are two distinct layers of investor sentiments that can affect asset valuation models. The first is…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of this research is to provide evidence that there are two distinct layers of investor sentiments that can affect asset valuation models. The first is general market-wide sentiments, while the second is biased approaches toward specific assets.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the goal, the authors conducted a multi-step analysis of stock returns and constructed complex sentiment indices that reflect the optimism or pessimism of stock market participants. The authors used panel regression with fixed effects and a sample of the US stock market to improve the explanatory power of the three-factor models.
Findings
The analysis showed that both market-level and stock-level sentiments have significant contributions, although they are not equal. The impact of stock-level sentiments is more profound than market-level sentiments, suggesting that neglecting the stock-level sentiment proxies in asset valuation models may lead to severe deficiencies.
Originality/value
In contrast to previous studies, the authors propose that investor sentiments should be measured using a multi-level factor approach rather than a single-factor approach. The authors identified two distinct levels of investor sentiment: general market-wide sentiments and individual stock-specific sentiments.
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Yu-Wei Chang and I-Jen Li
This study explored the influence of Dervin’s sensemaking methodology (SMM).
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored the influence of Dervin’s sensemaking methodology (SMM).
Design/methodology/approach
Citation context analysis was used to identify the most influential SMM concepts in 948 articles citing 34 SMM-related studies by Dervin that were published between 1983 and 2017. Moreover, the bibliometric method and content analysis were incorporated to examine the disciplines and research topics influenced by the SMM-related studies and the role of cited content in SMM-related studies.
Findings
The influence of SMM is concentrated in information behavior research in the field of library and information science (LIS). The 1992 book chapter From the mind’s eye of the user was most frequently cited, followed by the first SMM study from 1983; 14 of the 18 content categories were relevant to SMM. “Sensemaking,” at the core of SMM, was the most influential cited concept, primarily cited from the 1983 SMM-related study. Although the SMM was developed as a research method, it has not been primarily applied to design research methods in other studies.
Originality/value
This study explored the interdisciplinary influence of Dervin’s SMM from several aspects and demonstrated the complex information dynamics between SMM-related works and citing articles.
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Lisette Templeton and Anne Goulding
This paper aims to investigate public library staff engagement and perceptions of video games and video game services.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate public library staff engagement and perceptions of video games and video game services.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative and qualitative data on staff video game experiences, perceptions and confidence were collected through an online questionnaire.
Findings
The results indicate an overall positive perception of video games in public libraries, with 87% of the respondents supporting video games in public libraries. Video game players appear to think more positively about video games and have more general knowledge about them than non-players. They also appeared to be more confident in delivering related services and were more likely to be running gaming-related events. It was concluded that staff attitudes towards video games are not a barrier to their inclusion in public libraries, as found in previous research.
Practical implications
Encouraging staff engagement with video games may improve their knowledge and confidence in delivering video game services, although further research is required to confirm this. There is a potentially underserved population of those aged 46–84 years, nearly half of whom play video games. Evaluation of this potentially underserved population is an interesting topic for future research.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first survey of public library staff views towards video games in Aotearoa New Zealand, and it updates previous research in light of developments in gaming, gaming technology and the increased focus on public libraries as providers of digital technology and sites of community engagement.
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This study aims to explore and classify the fragmentary findings of previous studies and improve understanding of the overall roles of supervisors in newcomer organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore and classify the fragmentary findings of previous studies and improve understanding of the overall roles of supervisors in newcomer organizational socialization (NOS) and their relationships to NOS outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study chiefly involves undertaking a literature review, with an emphasis on the perspective of human resource development (HRD). A structured literature review was conducted to identify and select articles through the Web of Science database.
Findings
Five important roles of supervisors during NOS – supporting training transfer, providing information, clarifying newcomers’ roles, facilitating sensemaking and providing feedback – were revealed from an examination of extant work. These roles markedly influence five different components of newcomers’ adjustment: task mastery, role clarification, organizational knowledge, social identification and social integration.
Research limitations/implications
Although the concept of NOS used in this paper did not include all meanings of organizational socialization, the findings proposed key areas that require further study to enhance the understanding of supervisors’ roles for NOS.
Practical implications
The literature review suggests key efforts that supervisors should pursue to enhance the efficacy of newcomers’ adjustment. HRD professionals can use this information to design supervisor training programs aimed at enhancing supervisors’ knowledge and skills for successful NOS.
Originality/value
Studies have reported that supervisors markedly impact NOS and ultimately a newcomer’s success or failure. Relatively little work, however, has investigated how supervisors’ roles in the NOS process can enhance newcomers’ successful NOS outcomes.
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Olimpia Rosales and Geraldina Silveyra
This study aims to explore the constructs of spirituality (SP) and entrepreneurial performance (EP) and their measurements to identify their connections. Attending to the needs of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the constructs of spirituality (SP) and entrepreneurial performance (EP) and their measurements to identify their connections. Attending to the needs of entrepreneurs to face the current global crisis, this research establishes a framework that integrates SP to enhance EP.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on a comprehensive literature review and a comparison between constructs to come across with the proposal of a conceptual framework.
Findings
For SP, spiritual well-being was found as a good measure which, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has never been used in entrepreneurship. EP has been typically measured by economic indicators, but recently, noneconomic benefits and effects on stakeholders have also been considered, so an integrated approach is proposed. The main contribution is a framework called holistic entrepreneurial inventory (HEI), which integrates the main elements of the constructs in a matrix showing their interconnection. It is accompanied by a scorecard for entrepreneurs to identify strengths and weaknesses in SP and EP.
Research limitations/implications
This is a theoretical research and proposal; further empirical research could help confirm the present conceptual findings.
Practical implications
To help entrepreneurs identify the areas where they would like to improve, understanding the connection between SP and EP, which are dynamic states in constant change.
Originality/value
EP has been mainly focused on exogenous causes. The HEI scorecard may give entrepreneurs a different perspective from the innermost part of their being.
Details
Keywords
- Business spirituality
- Spiritual well-being
- Entrepreneurial performance
- Holistic entrepreneur
- Entrepreneurship
- Espiritualidad empresarial
- Bienestar espiritual
- Desempeño emprendedor
- Emprendedor holístico
- Emprendimiento
- Palavras-chave Espiritualidade nos negócios
- Bem-estar espiritual
- Desempenho empreendedor
- Empreendedor holístico
- Empreendedorismo