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1 – 10 of 13This study aims to answer two questions: (a) what obstacles and opportunities do Chinese female entrepreneurs face when doing business? And (b) how do they negotiate their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer two questions: (a) what obstacles and opportunities do Chinese female entrepreneurs face when doing business? And (b) how do they negotiate their entrepreneurial careers and gender identities in different gender-segregated markets?
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses qualitative research methods of participant observation and in-depth interviews with 41 female entrepreneurs in China and the theoretical lenses of gender role theory and doing gender in entrepreneurship.
Findings
The study findings reveal that Chinese female entrepreneurs face different obstacles and opportunities in gender-segregated industries. Their experiences vary in industries that are mainly occupied by males and females. On the one hand, women in female-dominated industries may be supported by a feminine working environment that is coherent with their domestic roles. However, they may also be questioned on the cultural impurity implied in some industries, which harms their class-based feminine virtue. On the other hand, women in male-dominated industries may be challenged and marginalized due to their gender. However, some find ways to turn the disadvantaged feminine characters into favourable conditions and break out of the stereotypical gender constraints in doing business.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on gender and entrepreneurship in general. More specifically, it contributes to the study of doing gender in gender-segregated markets, and it also illustrates women’s gendered opportunities and constraints in Chinese society that are affected by the long-lasting traditional gender norms.
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Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of flexible human resource management system (FHRMS) on employee innovation performance in Chinese context. The boundary conditions of employability and organizational identity are also discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on 322 questionnaire survey from employees in China. The questionnaires were collected at two time points. This study used the method of multi-level linear model analysis for empirical test.
Findings
This study has three conclusions. First, FHRMS have a significant positive impact on employee innovation performance, with employability playing a mediating role. Second, organizational identity plays a moderating role between employability and employee innovation performance. Third, organizational identity moderates the mediating effect of a human source management systems on employee innovation performance through employability.
Originality/value
The results are helpful to open the “black box” of the influence of FHRMS on employees’ individual innovation performance. This study provides a reference for enterprises to establish flexible human source management system to improve employee innovation performance.
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Jo Bates, Helen Kennedy, Itzelle Medina Perea, Susan Oman and Lulu Pinney
The purpose is to present proposals to foster what we call a socially meaningful transparency practice that aims to enhance public understanding of data-based systems through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to present proposals to foster what we call a socially meaningful transparency practice that aims to enhance public understanding of data-based systems through the production of accounts that are relevant and useful to diverse publics, and society more broadly.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ proposals emerge from reflections on challenges they experienced producing written and visual accounts of specific public sector data-based systems for research purposes. Following Ananny and Crawford's call to see limits to transparency practice as “openings”, the authors put their experience into dialogue with the literature to think about how we might chart a way through the challenges. Based on these reflections, the authors outline seven proposals for fostering socially meaningful transparency.
Findings
The authors identify three transparency challenges from their practice: information asymmetry, uncertainty and resourcing. The authors also present seven proposals related to reduction of information asymmetries between organisations and non-commercial external actors, enhanced legal rights to access information, shared decision making about what gets made transparent, making visible social impacts and uncertainties of data-systems, clear and accessible communication, timing of transparency practices and adequate resourcing.
Social implications
Socially meaningful transparency aims to enhance public understanding of data-based systems. It is therefore a necessary condition not only for informed use of data-based products, but crucially for democratic engagement in the development of datafied societies.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to existing debates on meaningful transparency by arguing for a more social, rather than individual, approach to imagining how to make transparency practice more meaningful. The authors do this through their empirical reflection on our experience of doing transparency, conceptually through our notion of socially meaningful transparency, and practically through our seven proposals.
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Kai Li, Lulu Xia, Nenggui Zhao and Tao Zhou
The purpose of this paper is to compare the pricing decisions and earning potential of the software supplier and the smart device manufacturer in different software promotion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the pricing decisions and earning potential of the software supplier and the smart device manufacturer in different software promotion strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on game theory, the authors formulate two promotion models, that is, the supplier implements software promotion activities individually (SP model) or outsources the promotion activity to the manufacturer under profit-sharing contract (MP model) when taking different channel power structures into consideration. Besides, in order to test the robustness of the conclusions, the authors also extend the basic model to the following situations: (1) the customers have different price elasticity toward service fee and product price; (2) the revenue sharing contract is employed by the supply chain members; and (3) the manufacturer's product promotion practice is taken into consideration.
Findings
The optimal service fee (product price) of the supplier (manufacturer) under SP model is always lower (higher) than that under MP model. Surprisingly, if the supplier is the channel leader and the profit sharing ratio exceeds certain threshold, the manufacturer's profit decreases in profit sharing ratio, which remains robust in three extension models. Moreover, the supply chain's profit in supplier-led game is always lower than that in Nash game irrespective of the promotion strategy in profit sharing context. When revenue sharing contract is adopted, the result holds only when the revenue sharing ratio is relatively low.
Originality/value
The authors originally explore two promotion strategies of the software supplier when taking the channel power structures into considerations, which has not been explored in the literature to the best of the authors' knowledge.
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Fang Xie, Xufan Zhang, Jing Ye, Lulu Zhou, Wenjian Zhang and Feng Tian
Based on the resource conservation theory, this research paper aims to evaluate the positive impact of customer orientation on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the resource conservation theory, this research paper aims to evaluate the positive impact of customer orientation on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion and the moderating effects of customer incivility and supervisor monitoring.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-wave data from 484 frontline employees in power supply business halls were analyzed. This study used AMOS 23.0, SPSS22.0 and PROCESS macro for data statistics and analysis.
Findings
Our empirical research demonstrates that customer orientation has a significant positive impact on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion. At the same time, supervisor monitoring moderates the relationship between customer orientation and emotional exhaustion. The higher the interactional or observational monitoring, the stronger customer orientation's effect on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion. Moreover, a three-way interaction model exists between customer orientation, customer incivility and supervisor monitoring.
Practical implications
This study yields practical implications for helping the frontline employees of service-oriented organizations alleviate multiple interpersonal workplace pressures.
Originality/value
Based on resource conservation theory, this paper used a novel approach to focus on customer orientation, customer incivility and supervisor monitoring as interpersonal stressors.
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Francisco Guzmán, Fayez Ahmad and Ross W. Johnson
Business organizations are evermore expected to behave conscientiously, but a lack of clarity remains regarding this strategy for business-to-business (B2B) brands. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Business organizations are evermore expected to behave conscientiously, but a lack of clarity remains regarding this strategy for business-to-business (B2B) brands. This paper aims to develop and validate a B2B brand conscientiousness model that identifies what factors are driving this approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is validated through a three-stage study that collects insights from high-level executives, mid-level managers and employees in B2B firms. Whereas the first two exploratory stages follow a qualitative approach to identify what factors motivate B2B firms to be conscientious and develop a model, the third stage empirically tests the proposed model through structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results suggest that brand conscientiousness is viewed as an important strategy by B2B stakeholders. Whereas perceived risk discourages, external and internal stakeholder expectations and a firm’s financial commitment to a cause encourage, brands to pursue a conscientious approach. Furthermore, a B2B conscientious strategy must be perceived as authentic. Long-term commitment to the cause, strategic alignment of brand values with the cause and a congruent delivery of the brand’s promise are the drivers of this perceived authenticity.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the emerging knowledge on B2B conscientious brands by confirming the importance of this approach in a B2B context, identifying the factors that B2B stakeholders – executives, managers and employees – believe are driving it and highlighting the importance and identifying the factors that drive its perceived authenticity.
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Taeahn Kang, Rei Yamashita and Hirotaka Matsuoka
Although many attempts to discover key segments of sport spectators have been extant, little segmentation effort has been made to reflect pandemic situations such as the COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
Although many attempts to discover key segments of sport spectators have been extant, little segmentation effort has been made to reflect pandemic situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research is twofold: (1) to classify sport spectators into key segments based on perceived risks associated with a mass-gathered sporting event during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to identify each segment’s profiles.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire surveys of spectators attending a Japanese rugby game during the COVID-19 pandemic (January–June 2021) were conducted (n = 1,410). A combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods was executed.
Findings
The results revealed the five-cluster solution as the optimal number of clusters representing the samples (i.e. spectators with extremely low-risk perception, those with low-risk perception, those with moderate-risk perception, those with high-risk perception and those with higher social risk perception). This five-cluster solution showed sufficient stability and validity. Moreover, each segment had different profiles regarding three background aspects – demographics, psychographics and behavioral variables.
Originality/value
This study is the first effort to segment sport spectators based on perceived risks associated with a mass-gathered sporting event in the pandemic situation. Despite extensive segmentation studies to explore sport fans, contribution reflecting the post-crisis situations is scant. Therefore, the findings provide insight into this realm by providing a new viewpoint for understanding sport spectators during a possible future pandemic era.
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Chee Wei Cheah and Kian Yeik Koay
Underpinned by the legitimacy perspective, this study explores how ride-hailing services are legitimized through resource exchange among the industry players. The authors explore…
Abstract
Purpose
Underpinned by the legitimacy perspective, this study explores how ride-hailing services are legitimized through resource exchange among the industry players. The authors explore the types of legitimacy involved in the legitimation process. The authors also examine the political games being played by the actors to attain legitimacy.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study involves thirty-one stakeholders/interviewees from emerging Asia. The interview data are supported by online documents and observations.
Findings
Thematic analysis shows that the industry players collaborate to achieve political, market, alliance, social, and investment legitimacy. The collaborations also legitimize industry players' existence through an eclectic mix of the numerous stakeholders' actions. This study shows how Dacin's proposed four types of legitimacy are coexisting and interconnected. It also highlights the neglected political legitimacy.
Originality/value
The findings guide the policymakers and ride-hailing operators experiencing competing requests to legitimize sustainable ride-hailing service development in urban cities.
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Rita Sleiman, Quoc-Thông Nguyen, Sandra Lacaze, Kim-Phuc Tran and Sébastien Thomassey
We propose a machine learning based methodology to deal with data collected from a mobile application asking users their opinion regarding fashion products. Based on different…
Abstract
Purpose
We propose a machine learning based methodology to deal with data collected from a mobile application asking users their opinion regarding fashion products. Based on different machine learning techniques, the proposed approach relies on the data value chain principle to enrich data into knowledge, insights and learning experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Online interaction and the usage of social media have dramatically altered both consumers’ behaviors and business practices. Companies invest in social media platforms and digital marketing in order to increase their brand awareness and boost their sales. Especially for fashion retailers, understanding consumers’ behavior before launching a new collection is crucial to reduce overstock situations. In this study, we aim at providing retailers better understand consumers’ different assessments of newly introduced products.
Findings
By creating new product-related and user-related attributes, the proposed prediction model attends an average of 70.15% accuracy when evaluating the potential success of new future products during the design process of the collection. Results showed that by harnessing artificial intelligence techniques, along with social media data and mobile apps, new ways of interacting with clients and understanding their preferences are established.
Practical implications
From a practical point of view, the proposed approach helps businesses better target their marketing campaigns, localize their potential clients and adjust manufactured quantities.
Originality/value
The originality of the proposed approach lies in (1) the implementation of the data value chain principle to enhance the information of raw data collected from mobile apps and improve the prediction model performances, and (2) the combination consumer and product attributes to provide an accurate prediction of new fashion, products.
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Julianna Paola Ramirez Lozano, Percy Samoel Marquina Feldman and Renato Peñaflor Guerra
This study aims to understand the leadership characteristics of founders of social and environmental enterprises in Latin America who have achieved business success with a focus…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the leadership characteristics of founders of social and environmental enterprises in Latin America who have achieved business success with a focus on sustainability despite difficult social, economic, political and even health contexts in which they live.
Design/methodology/approach
This nonexperimental research is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study. Twenty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with social/environmental entrepreneurs of the Kunan Network (an organization that groups the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Peru).
Findings
The study analyzes the leadership profile and characteristics of entrepreneurs who have created profitable businesses with a social/environmental focus that solve relevant social problems and contribute to improving people’s quality of life and caring for the environment.
Research limitations/implications
Although only 21 business leaders with outstanding participation and positive social and environmental impact were included in this study, they were supported and recognized by the Kunan Network.
Originality/value
The study contributed to the conceptualization and understanding of the profile of leaders of social and environmental enterprises, whose main challenges are to solve social or environmental problems of society and contribute to improving the quality of life of people and the environment. Knowing the profile of these entrepreneurs generates value to the knowledge of the subject and contributes to understand and propose strategies to improve the ecosystem of social-environmental entrepreneurship in emerging countries such as Peru. This will contribute to the creation of relationships and alliances with various social actors: public, private, third sector, academia, among others, for the management and promotion of sustainable business.
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