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1 – 10 of 127Alex Olivier Alves Rodrigues, Carla Susana Marques and Veland Ramadani
The aim of this study is, from the perspective of artisan entrepreneurship, to trace and analyse the artisan's profile in the sustainable development of low population density…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is, from the perspective of artisan entrepreneurship, to trace and analyse the artisan's profile in the sustainable development of low population density cross-border territories, using the quintuple helix innovation model.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with cultural and traditional artisans to achieve the proposed objective using a qualitative approach. The artisans are from Northeast Portugal (Bragança, Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro, Vimioso and Vinhais) and Northern Spain (Province of Zamora). The interviews were conducted face-to-face between May and June 2022. The interviews were manually transcribed and subjected to content and lexical analyses using IRaMuTeQ software.
Findings
An artisan was identified as an enterprising individual whose marketed handicraft pieces transmit the values and teachings of his community. Innovation, technology, sustainability and circular economy in a family environment, where dedication, resilience, happiness and hard work transmit an identity that places the artisan and his artisan practice as the driving force for the enhancement and promotion of his territory, cultural heritage and identity.
Originality/value
This work is the first study to address and treat the issue of artisan entrepreneurship by analysing and defining the cultural-based and traditional artisan profile in a cross-border and low population density territorial context.
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Patrícia Moura e Sá, Catarina Frade, Fernanda Jesus, Mónica Lopes, Teresa Maneca Lima and Vitor Raposo
Wicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Wicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders.
Findings
As defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages.
Social implications
The approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.
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Farhad Nazir, Norberto Santos and Luís Silveira
This paper aims to discern the potential dimensions amid the duality of heritage tourism and peace. Reflecting on the phases of destruction and rebuilding of Seated Buddha of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discern the potential dimensions amid the duality of heritage tourism and peace. Reflecting on the phases of destruction and rebuilding of Seated Buddha of Jahanabad, this study used the content analysis of 40 news sources, to unravel the resultant avenues of heritage tourism and peace.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the qualitative research strategy, the interface of NVivo 12 has been used to transcribe the textual and visual content of media news. The media news aired on the incident of destruction phase in 2007, and rebuilding drive in 2012–2016 were the two sets of collected data. A hierarchy of thematic analysis was adopted to identify nodes, subthemes and themes.
Findings
Findings of this study highlighted six themes: peaceful imagery, PI; heritage dissonance, HD, vs interfaith harmony, IH; peace allegory through restoration, PAR; precursor of heritage sustainability, PHS; community heritage consonance, CHC; and heritage touristic valuation, HTV.
Research limitations/implications
This study lacks statistical data of the quantitative research domain. Aimed at a single heritage site, it analyzed limited number of news sources.
Practical implications
This study offers implications for industrial, theoretical, managerial and governmental stakeholders in their respective domains. Moreover, it also provides takeouts for common readers.
Originality/value
This study contends a significant research issue and analyzes the destruction and rebuilding of a heritage site in a developing country. Primarily in the sociogeographic context of the research issue, the resultant dimensions are novel and demanding.
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The purpose of this study is to address the relevance of archaeological heritage in the context of supply chains for the tourism industry. It does so by providing converging…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to address the relevance of archaeological heritage in the context of supply chains for the tourism industry. It does so by providing converging ideas on the usefulness of individual sites, not in their strict scientific or latent value but as an enhancer for optimizing cultural production in a wider scenario of aggregate demand.
Design/methodology/approach
While examples from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) illustrate this reasoning, the underlying principles have a widespread application and point to a need for defragmenting and realigning tangible heritage as a key production factor. Methods used consist of an inductive approach, based on secondary sources and semi-structured interviews.
Findings
Results indicate that, while archaeological resources remain central to the promotion of cultural tourism in the UAE, suppliers face challenges when incorporating particular sites into consumer-friendly packages.
Practical implications
The study contributes to the identification of common risks and opportunities for archaeological resource management in the development of UAE tourism products.
Originality/value
This represents an original angle, given the focus on the specific regional, cooperative added value of archaeological resources and the need for optimizing them in a functional supply chain.
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Ana Junça Silva and Deolinda Pinto
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and personal resources (social support from the leader and colleagues and adaptability). Specifically, the authors tested the mediating role of motivation to transfer in the relationship (1) between the perceived support from the supervisor and colleagues and performance after training and (2) between adaptability and performance in an extreme context of the pandemic crisis – the first peak of COVID-19 in Portugal. Further, an inspection of the factors that predicted knowledge transfer and adaptability under an extreme context was carried out.
Design/methodology/approach
To do so, necessary training about the new safety rules regarding the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 was implemented in a healthcare institution as a strategy to help healthcare workers deal with the increasing uncertainty and complexity that was threatening their work. It consisted of three sessions (each with one hour of training) regarding procedures, rules and safety norms. The training occurred in May 2020. Overall, 291 healthcare workers participated in the study and answered one online questionnaire one week after training completion.
Findings
The results showed that the motivation to transfer had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between colleagues' and supervisors' support and performance and between adaptability and performance. Additionally, complementary analyses showed that the mediations depended on the levels of self-efficacy in such a way that the indirect relationships were stronger when self-efficacy was higher. Thus, adaptability and support, both from colleagues and the supervisor, are determining factors for knowledge transfer and resultant performance in extreme contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Lastly, the results showed that the most significant predictors of transference were self-efficacy and the motivation to transfer the learned knowledge. On the other hand, self-efficacy, peer support and the opportunity to use the knowledge were the most significant predictors of adaptability.
Practical implications
These findings provide support for the role of employee motivation to transfer as a mechanism connecting both perceived support and adaptability to performance outcomes under extreme working contexts.
Originality/value
This study, conducted in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic context – an extreme and uncertain working context – shows the relevance of both job and individual factors to predict employees' adaptability to such contexts.
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Suneel Kumar, Varinder Kumar, Isha Kumari Bhatt, Sanjeev Kumar and Kamlesh Attri
This article analyzes research on digital transformation in the tourism sector, providing insights into leading work, authors, journals, trends and future research opportunities…
Abstract
Purpose
This article analyzes research on digital transformation in the tourism sector, providing insights into leading work, authors, journals, trends and future research opportunities. However, limited in-depth research exists on this topic, and the existing studies lack an understanding of its development, scope and relevant areas.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilized the Scopus database to identify 61 articles on digital transformation in the tourism sector. The research employed VOSviewer software to analyze publication and citation structure, incorporating bibliometric variables like co-authorship, co-citation network, keywords co-occurrence network and bibliographic coupling.
Findings
The study yielded valuable insights from top-cited articles, revealing their contributions to digital transformation in tourism research. It also highlighted publication trends and the impact of authors, journals and studies and conducted co-occurrence, co-authorship and bibliographic analyses to identify key trends and issues in the tourism sector. The study calls for further examination of the digital revolution in tourism research and outlines future opportunities for researchers in this area.
Research limitations/implications
To enhance the comprehensiveness of data collection, it is recommended that researchers consider including publications from databases such as WOS (Web of Science), Dimensions and PubMed in addition to the Scopus database. This broader inclusion of sources can provide different network structures and valuable insights from the field of digital transformation in the tourism sector.
Originality/value
The research provides substantial value to the study of digital transformation in tourism by focusing on bibliometric data from the Scopus database for the period from 2017 to 2022. By analyzing this data, it identifies significant trends in digital transformation within tourism research. Additionally, the study uncovers new areas of digitization in the tourism sector, further enhancing its value and relevance.
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Mohamed Mousa, Doaa Althalathini and Beatrice Avolio
The aim of this paper is to answer the question: What stimulates artisan entrepreneurs to act as responsible leaders?
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to answer the question: What stimulates artisan entrepreneurs to act as responsible leaders?
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method was employed and semi-structured interviews with 30 artisans working in four different artisanal activities were used to gather the data. Thematic analysis was subsequently applied to the interview transcripts.
Findings
The findings suggest that the main factors causing artisan entrepreneurs to act responsibly are as follows: autonomy (the authority artisans exercise in managing their businesses; preserving socio-cultural identity is an artisan’s main duty; proving an individual competency in implementing society-related priorities), competence (adhering to generally accepted business practices; simplicity of developing and maintaining the social agenda of artisan enterprises; meeting the clients’ desire in exercising a social awareness) and relatedness (returning social favours; necessitating involvement with different stakeholders; contributing to the common good).
Originality/value
This paper contributes by filling a gap in the literature on artisan entrepreneurship, responsible leadership and research in tourism and hospitality, in which empirical studies on the responsible practices of artisan entrepreneurs have been limited so far.
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Rafael Sartor de Oliveira, Mário Franco and Margarida Rodrigues
Cooperative agreements between universities and firms (U–F) have gained prominence. However, the literature on organisational culture and the formation of cooperation agreements…
Abstract
Purpose
Cooperative agreements between universities and firms (U–F) have gained prominence. However, the literature on organisational culture and the formation of cooperation agreements is scarce. This study aims to analyse, from the perspective of the managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those in charge in universities, the perceptions of the influence of organisational culture on this type of U–F cooperation.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, multiple case studies were adopted, involving cooperation agreements between a Portuguese and eight SMEs incubated in UBImedical. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information, aiming to understand the meaning, importance and possible obstacles caused by organisational culture in this U–F cooperation agreement.
Findings
Content analysis of the results obtained leads to the conclusion that cultural compatibility is a crucial factor for successful U–F cooperation. The exchange of knowledge, mutual trust and flexibility between those involved are identified as key determinants to build shared norms that allow a more productive, assertive union.
Practical implications
The study represents an important tool to support SME managers and those in charge of universities, as the evidence obtained can help them to define policies and actions with regard to the U–F cooperation process. More precisely, these SME and university managers could give more attention to culture in future cooperation agreements.
Originality/value
This study advances understanding of the role of organisational culture in a cooperation agreement since this was a gap identified in the literature on the topic. It also contributes to the existing body of work on U–F cooperation, demonstrating that organisational culture is considered important by partners in these agreements and should be adjusted towards compatible alignment of each party’s expectations.
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Lucas Olmedo, Mary O. Shaughnessy and Paul Holloway
This study aims to conduct a geographical analysis of the distribution and type of activities developed by social enterprises in rural and urban areas of Ireland.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to conduct a geographical analysis of the distribution and type of activities developed by social enterprises in rural and urban areas of Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyses data of more than 4,000 social enterprises against a six-tier rural/urban typology, using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests to test six hypotheses.
Findings
The study shows a geographical rural–urban pattern in the distribution of social enterprises in Ireland, with a positive association between the remoteness of an area and the ratio of social enterprises, and a lack of capital-city effect related to the density of social enterprises. The analysis also shows a statistically significant geographical rural–urban pattern for the types of activities developed by social enterprises. The authors observe a positive association between the remoteness of the areas and the presence of social enterprises operating in the community and local development sector whereas the association is not significant for social enterprises developing welfare services.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows the potential of using recently developed rural–urban typologies and tools such as geographical information systems for conducting geographical research on social enterprises. The findings also have implications for informing spatially sensitive policymaking on social enterprises.
Originality/value
The merging of a large national data set of social enterprises with geographical tools and data at subregional level contributes to the methodological advancement of the field of social enterprises, providing tools and frameworks for a nuanced and spatially sensitive analysis of these organisations.
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Ana Garcez, Mário Franco and Ricardo Silva
This study aims to analyse the influence of the pillars (hard and soft skills) of digital academic entrepreneurship on students' entrepreneurial intention.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the influence of the pillars (hard and soft skills) of digital academic entrepreneurship on students' entrepreneurial intention.
Design/methodology/approach
This was done by adopting a quantitative methodology involving empirical research with a sample of 761 university students from two countries and adopting structural equation analysis to validate the theoretical model proposed.
Findings
The results indicate a direct influence between hard and soft skills and entrepreneurial intention, and a positive, indirect influence between these and entrepreneurial intention mediated by the dimensions of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) – entrepreneurial attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Therefore, the pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship have a direct and indirect influence on university students' entrepreneurial intention.
Practical implications
This study also contributes to better operationalization of entrepreneurial education in university environments, since the development of hard and soft skills can be planned better based on the model proposed here. Considering the relations between the dimensions of hard and soft skills and those of TPB, this study shows there can be an influence on students' entrepreneurial intention.
Originality/value
In this study, a new and innovative construct is inserted in the model of entrepreneurial intention: “structural pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship” through structural equation modelling, to determine the degree of influence of these pillars (hard and soft skills) constructs on HEI students' entrepreneurial intention.
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