Search results

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain if practising healthy lifestyles improves the technical efficiency of farms in Kwara state, Nigeria. In theory, all deviations from the optimum level of output are due to random effects and inefficiency of producers in which their health plays a key part and is dependent on the kind of lifestyle practiced whether healthy or unhealthy.

Cross-sectional data were employed through a three-staged sampling technique to pick 320 arable crop farmers across the state using a well-defined questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, healthy lifestyles index (HLI), stochastic production frontier (SPF) and propensity score matching (PSM).

First, the analysis showed that about one-third of the sampled arable crop farmers practised healthy lifestyles. Second, the average technical efficiency of arable crop production for farmers who practised a healthy lifestyle was 0.893, and the level of technical inefficiency of the farms was determined by health-related lifestyle status, number of day's illness and educational level. Third, technical efficiency was improved by 0.00431067 for farms whose farmers practised a healthy lifestyle.

Rather than seeing that technical efficiencies of farms are attributed to farm characteristics, inputs used and socioeconomic characteristics alone, the findings suggest that technical inefficiencies of arable crop farmers were also due to the kind of lifestyle practised, which was evidenced in the increased efficiency for farmers who practised healthy lifestyle.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0353

Health is an essential issue in the motivation to eat organic food. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship if people who have a positive view of a healthy lifestyle (want to live healthy) have an influence on the tendency to buy organic food.

The analysis of secondary data dealing with the issue was supplemented by primary data. In order to meet the main aim, a preliminary objective was set which was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on the recommended lifestyle. Specifically, the largest statistically significant difference in influence on healthy lifestyle was gender, followed by education and age. The survey was conducted in the period of January–May 2019 on a sample of 1,373 respondents from Slovakia.

The data was evaluated by means of selected specific statistical methods (Kruskal–Wallis test, Man-Whitney test and Decision tree methodology). The results of the research verified that the lifestyle of Slovak consumers has an influence on the consumption of organic products and that people who practise healthy eating buy organic food more often. Our research has shown that lifestyle is increasingly influencing consumer purchasing behaviour.

The results showed that today's healthy lifestyle increases the demand for healthy food among potential consumers. Furthermore, the presented results of our research in Slovakia could establish some basis for conducting similar research in other European countries.

The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle (<150 min of physical exercise/week) and associated factors of this behavior in Brazil.

An observational study was conducted through an online questionnaire in August–September 2020 (5.5 months after the beginning of the pandemic in the country). Socioeconomic, lifestyle, anthropometric, dietary and perceived stress data were evaluated as possible related factors to a sedentary lifestyle through multiple logistic regression analysis.

A total of 1,347 individuals were evaluated (median of 31 years old, 80.1% women), of whom 76.7% were considered sedentary. Associated factors to a sedentary lifestyle were being overweight; a greater difference between current weight and prepandemic weight; female sex; lower percentage of home-cooked meals; greater increase in the frequency of consumption of alcoholic beverages; higher frequency of consumption of cereals, sausages and sweets during the pandemic; and higher score of perceived stress.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have aimed to reveal the associated factors to a sedentary lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Protective factors against a sedentary lifestyle were eating breakfast, being a student, living with parents, a higher frequency of fruit consumption, a higher rate of alcohol consumption and a higher cognitive restriction of food intake during the pandemic. Most of the study participants were sedentary, especially women. A sedentary lifestyle was associated with worse lifestyle/eating habits and stress. Such findings encourage an interdisciplinary approach because habits and lifestyle have numerous interferences.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his 2018 State of the Nation Address, stated that “Thieves who are stealing public funds should be arrested and prosecuted”, and called for lifestyle audits of public-sector employees. The gross misuse of COVID-19 relief funds by public officials indicated the urgent need to execute these audits as an anti-corruption measure. This paper aims to provide a review of the existing state of affairs with regard to the application of lifestyle audits in South Africa.

This paper critically analyses the literature available on the current position of South Africa concerning lifestyle audits in the public sector, based on the mandates of some of the anti-corruption agencies that could be responsible for the conducting and processing of such audits.

South Africa has only recently seen a framework for applying lifestyle audits, developed by the Department of Public Service and Administration. Although these first steps in developing a standard practice are laudable, the practical process of dealing with misconduct and/or criminal matters remains to be seen. It is recommended that South Africa consider a legislative approach to dealing with unlawfully obtained wealth by either criminalising the act of illicit enrichment (per the United Nations Convention Against Corruption) or creating an Unexplained Wealth Order, as seen, for example, in the UK.

South Africa is in dire need of addressing corruption in the public sector. Despite lifestyle audits being called for, the lack of proper implementation is negating any positive outcomes. Therefore, alternative solutions should be investigated.

There has been an increase in surf tourism, as surfing has gained more international prominence and popularity. Many individuals travel to surf competitions as a form of leisure activity and enhance business connections. The purpose of this study is to examine the entrepreneurial intentions of tourists at a surf event by focusing on lifestyle entrepreneurs.

A case study methodology of the Bells Beach surf contest, Australia, was conducted via semi-structured, in-depth interviews of surf tourists to explore their entrepreneurial behaviour.

Results reveal that many surf tourists are interested in surfing as a leisure activity but others see the potential business opportunities of the sport.

This study fills a gap in the literature between lifestyle entrepreneurship and surf tourism by highlighting the role of entrepreneurial intentions for developing tourism business activities. Management implications for surf tourism entrepreneurs and tourism bodies are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

Men and women are now being admitted to membership of the major UK professional accountancy bodies in approximately equal numbers. This trend has focused attention on the ways in which professional accountants combine careers and family life, particularly when women have children. Recognising the limitations inherent in the widely‐used term “work‐life balance” that polarises life and work, this paper instead seeks to consider the “work‐lifestyle choices” made by female accountants. Work‐lifestyle choices refer to the ways in which people place different emphases on the work and private spheres, according to their individual circumstances. Feminist researchers have argued that women's work‐lifestyle choices have been limited by structural constraints. Over the past decade, a newer argument, preference theory, has emerged, suggesting that women's choices owe less to inequalities in the workplace and more to the preferences of individuals, particularly, but not exclusively, women. The purpose of this paper is to explore the work‐lifestyle choices made by female members of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), in terms of both structural constraints and preferences, in order to present a more holistic understanding of the work‐lifestyle choices made by this particular group of well‐educated, middle‐class women.

The paper combines feminist theory and preference theory in the context of the results of a questionnaire survey of female members of ICAS and 14 interviews with female members of ICAS.

The responses of these accountants suggest that, while structural constraints are evident, many work‐lifestyle choices were driven by a desire to spend more time with children, and by women's perceptions of their mothering role. Most women, while recognising the opportunities forgone, were nonetheless happy with the choices that they had made.

The paper contributes to the literature by examining the voices of female accountants in order to explore how perceived gender roles impact on career decisions and work‐lifestyle choices.

There is tremendous growth potential for food and grocery (F&G) retail in an emerging market like India. Bengaluru is the third most populous city of India. With a total consumption expenditure of Rs 2,020 billion and per capita retail expenditure of Rs 67,289 (in 2015), Bengaluru has emerged as a sought-after retail market with many foreign and national brands opening stores here. The purpose of this paper is to use the sign of causality to determine the relationships between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyles in F&G retailing in Bengaluru.

An experimentation framework using causal design was developed to establish relationships between variables: store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle. A primary survey was conducted using a structured non-disguised questionnaire involving 346 F&G shoppers from Bengaluru. Hayes regression models were adapted and hypothesized relationships between the variables tested using correlation, multiple regression and Hayes regression/path analysis.

Satisfaction acts as a mediator in the relationship between store attributes and patronage intention. Lifestyle does not act as the moderator in the relationships between store attributes and patronage- intention; and, satisfaction and patronage intention.

In experiments that test for causality a big limitation is lower internal validity in the absence of control mechanisms, unlike laboratory studies. Another limitation is that this study is limited to urban Bengaluru F&G shoppers, variations could occur if the study is extended to include rural shoppers.

With 100 percent foreign direct investment permitted in the F&G category in India, the research outcomes will be useful to all food retailers (prospective and current) interested in this retail market. Moreover, in the existing competitive scenario, understanding of associative influences between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle will enable retailers comprehend F&G shoppers retailing behavior. This information can be used for targeted marketing and operational strategies, which will deliver more success in marketing relationship management, building competitive advantage and enhancing marketing efforts profitably.

This paper is a new and original contribution to the existing literature on causal relationships among variables in retail marketing research. It is different from prior studies that analyzed shoppers F&G behavior, in that it extends the understanding of the role of “satisfaction” as a mediator and “lifestyle” not a moderator, when testing the causality of store attributes on patronage intention.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationships among fashion lifestyle of social-local-mobile (SoLoMo) consumers as individual characteristics, perceptions of the value of showrooming and webrooming and omnichannel shopping intention as choice/purchase behavior, and product review sharing intention as a post-purchase behavior.

Participants were 601 SoLoMo consumers who were drawn from a US consumer panel. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model.

This study found that SoLoMo consumers’ perceptions of the value of showrooming and webrooming were antecedents of their omnichannel shopping intention, which had an influence on their intention to share product reviews. SoLoMo consumers’ brand prestige-based fashion lifestyle did not affect the perceived value of webrooming and had a negative influence on perceived value of showrooming. SoLoMo consumers’ information-based and practicality-based fashion lifestyles affected the perceived value of showrooming and webrooming. Interestingly, SoLoMo consumers’ personality-based fashion lifestyle did not have an influence on the perceived value of showrooming and webrooming.

This study provides the theoretical understanding of the interrelationships among SoLoMo consumers’ fashion lifestyle, perceived value, omnichannel shopping intention and product review sharing intention. This proposed model offers fashion retailers useful insights regarding the development of efficient omnichannel strategies based on SoLoMo consumers’ individual characteristics and perceptions. Finally, the results of this study engender important literature and knowledge related to omnichannel retailing and marketing.

Fresh products' homogeneity makes it difficult for grocery stores to differentiate themselves by improving product or service quality. This study analysed grocery store loyalty from the perspective of self-congruence and compared the relative importance of affective attachment and lifestyle matching, which acts as a mediating mechanism in influencing customer loyalty.

Individuals in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing and Xi'an; representative cities of China's east, south, west, north and central regions, responded to questionnaires. Altogether, 282 valid responses were obtained; structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

The findings show that lifestyle congruence has a greater mediating effect than emotional attachment in the relationship between store-self congruence and grocery store loyalty. Furthermore, social self-congruence was the dominant dimension of store-self congruence that affects grocery store loyalty.

The first important academic contribution of this study is the provision of knowledge on the issue of whether to focus on generating grocery store loyalty via the mediating effect of emotional attachment or lifestyle congruence. Furthermore, the empirical findings further clarify the boundary of brand attachment theory, demonstrating the limitation of this theory in explaining the mediating mechanism for self-congruence on loyalty in a context that sells low-involvement products in a collectivistic culture. Another academic contribution focuses on the examination of dominant dimensions of self-congruence.

This study provides a new strategy for grocery store managers to avoid the trap of homogeneous competition, namely, to clearly define consumers' social rather than personal identity. Additionally, grocery stores should focus on matching their image with target customers' lifestyles when building customer loyalty.

This study's findings also shed light on public policy. Some implications could be increasing the layout rationality of retail commercial outlets to facilitate the interaction between grocery stores and community consumers and promoting the matching of grocery stores and consumer lifestyles. Such policies may boost grocery sales, which in turn would boost farmers' incomes.

Compared to previous studies, this study analysed the customer loyalty of grocery stores from the perspective of self-congruence, analysed the mechanisms by which self-congruence influences customer loyalty via the mediating effects of emotional attachment and lifestyle congruence and compared the relative significance of these two paths. Furthermore, this study clarified the relative importance of self-congruence dimensions in influencing grocery store loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the relationship between lifestyles, household and household wastes, by exploring possible future development path for the lifestyle and the possible consequences for household waste composition. The study predicates on a reasonably simple and straightforward idea that the waste generated from homes is a product of the way the people live and since the way of life of people change overtime, getting an idea of how people may live in future may give an insight into the sorts of composition of waste produced by them. It tends to provide a contribution to the evidence base on household waste at a general level.

The overall approach hinged on the notion that the household is the appropriate analytical unit of household waste production composition. This specified inputs needed to develop scenarios for future waste composition. The weekly generation of sorted wastes from their various sources was determined by direct measurement in kilograms on a weighing scale. Questionnaires were administered to elicit information on key drivers and factors that influence lifestyles scenarios and their development. Interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders and government agencies on waste management.

The results indicated that food related waste constituted the major percentages and tonnages (44 percent, 269,870 tons) of household waste, while the least portion was glass (1.2 percent,7,278 tons). The key drivers responsible for generation of food waste include level of income, subsistence farming that generate organic food waste and rise in fast food outfits that give preference to readymade food over cooking at homes. The drivers for developing future scenarios include population, government regulations, nature of apartment, level of income, consumer spending, management technology. Three scenarios were developed: status quo trends, strong government and destination point.

Models should be developed for better simulation studies of lifestyle scenarios by quantifying household wastes in terms of carbon footprint and money instead of relying on quantities generated in tons. Further studies should extend to other sources of waste such as industrial waste, electrical and electronic waste, among others. The implication from research findings shows the need for sustained for sustained awareness on people’s lifestyle with regard to handling of household wastes by government agencies, institutions and non-governmental organizations. Scenario planning is required to enable, encourage and engage householders to make changes in their lifestyles.

Food waste, by virtue of its tonnage and percentage composition, dominated the overall picture during the study period and will continue to do so in the near future. The composition of household waste in the future will be driven by the population and lifestyles of the householders. The drivers of lifestyles are crucial factors that determine the picture of the future. Furthermore, it is possible to conjecture circumstances in which household waste is converted to wealth at the destination point but the period before then imply some radical changes in both lifestyles and underlying economic growth facilitated by a strong political will.

This research could be of enormous benefit to policy makers, practitioners and others with an interest in or responsibility to the development and implementation of sustainable waste management. Scenarios are devices for enabling organizations and the individuals within them better to understand their operating environment, so as to make better decisions. This research is a scenario-planning exercise, considering how future changes in lifestyles of people in Port Harcourt metropolis now and in future may impact on the future composition of wastes they generate.