Search results
1 – 10 of 80Zuzana Bednarik and Maria I. Marshall
As many businesses faced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and sought financial relief, existing bank relationships became critical to getting a loan. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
As many businesses faced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and sought financial relief, existing bank relationships became critical to getting a loan. This study examines factors associated with the development of personal relationships of rural small businesses with community bank representatives.
Design/methodology/approach
We applied a mixed-method approach. We employed descriptive statistics, principal factor analysis and logistic regression for data analysis. We distributed an online survey to rural small businesses in five states in the United States. Key informant interviews with community bank representatives supplemented the survey results.
Findings
A business owner’s trust in a banker was positively associated with the establishment of a business–bank relationship. However, an analysis of individual trust’s components revealed that the nature of trust is complex, and a failure of one or more components may lead to decreased trustworthiness in a banker. Small businesses that preferred personal communication with a bank were more inclined to relationship banking.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the relatively small sample size and cross-sectional data, our results may not be conclusive but should be viewed as preliminary and as suggestions for future research. Bankers should be aware of the importance of trust for small business owners and of the actions that lead to increased trustworthiness.
Originality/value
The study extends the existing knowledge on the business–bank relationship by focusing mainly on social (instead of economic) factors associated with the establishment of the business–bank relationship in times of crisis and high uncertainty.
Details
Keywords
Anne Aidla, Helen Poltimäe, Kärt Rõigas, Eneli Kindsiko and Els Maria Metsmaa
The purpose of this study is to analyse perceived physical and social isolation and how they are linked in various places of work.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse perceived physical and social isolation and how they are linked in various places of work.
Design/methodology/approach
A nationwide study was conducted involving 3,352 Estonian office workers in spring 2021. Physical isolation was measured in terms of what proportion of time a person works away from co-workers (0%, 1%–25%, 26%–50%, 51%–75%, more than 75%). Social isolation diverged into two factors: lack of contacts and lack of meaningful connections. The different places of work the authors considered in the study included working from home with and without a dedicated room and different types of offices (private office, shared-cell office, activity-based office and open-plan offices of various sizes).
Findings
The results show that the negative consequences of physical isolation in the form of perceiving social isolation start to show when a person works 51% of the time or more away from others. However, the authors revealed the dual nature of social isolation in that when a person experiences a lack of contacts, the connections they do have with their colleagues are actually more meaningful.
Originality/value
The originality of the study comes from the fact that the authors uncovered the paradoxical nature of social isolation. This reveals itself in various places of work depending on the conditions at home and the type of office. Therefore, the authors move away from the simplified distinction of home vs office and take into account the level of physical isolation (what amount of time a person actually works away from colleagues).
Details
Keywords
Sonia Quarchioni and Maria Serena Chiucchi
This paper explores face-to-face dialogues between practitioners and interventionist researchers in the management accounting (MA) field during real-time interactions for the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores face-to-face dialogues between practitioners and interventionist researchers in the management accounting (MA) field during real-time interactions for the development of accounting devices. It aims to shed light on whether and how these dialogues can affect the construction of meanings around the devices, thereby influencing the course of interventionist research (IVR) projects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents a reflective analysis (both in itinere and ex-post) of an IVR project conducted by one of the authors within a healthcare organisation. It draws on a dialogical perspective to delve into the conversations between the author and the organisation's chief executive officer (CEO) during one-to-one meetings for developing a new strategic dashboard.
Findings
The findings show that a lack of alignment between the images invoked by verbal forms and the device representations can hinder accounting IVR projects. Obstacles can be overcome when the researcher, by acting upon verbal forms and device representations that mutually reinforce each other, shapes the practitioner's expectations creating shared meanings around the device. This occurs during face-to-face interactions in which the researcher recognises the trialogue with the practitioner and the device, thereby affecting the practitioner's mode of engagement.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to improving the understanding of how researchers can affect practitioners' conceptualisation of accounting devices through the real-time experience of face-to-face dialogues. In doing so, it sheds light on the potential for IVR in MA to embrace a dialogical perspective. The paper also contributes more broadly to studies on the relationship between verbal and written accounting forms.
Details
Keywords
In The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are undercover operatives for the Soviet Union. In that capacity, they are responsible for crimes including murder and espionage…
Abstract
In The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are undercover operatives for the Soviet Union. In that capacity, they are responsible for crimes including murder and espionage. Yet they also pose as a law-abiding family, running a small business, raising children, and making friends with their neighbours. By ‘practicing’ American life, Philip becomes more American, forging an identity more receptive to American values and attitudes. This chapter draws on concepts from the literature on legal consciousness to examine the relationship between identity and hegemony. Studies of legal consciousness emphasise that consciousness is not simply legal attitudes or even ideology; rather legal consciousness is reflected in the way that people enact their legal beliefs and values. Those enactments help individuals form identities, but those identities are constrained by the hegemonic ideologies that are prevalent in the culture. Law and legal consciousness are important to both processes.
Details
Keywords
María del Carmen Rodríguez de France
No matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always other ways of interpreting the world. (Littlebear, 2000, p. 79)No matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always…
Abstract
No matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always other ways of interpreting the world. (Littlebear, 2000, p. 79)
No matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always other ways of interpreting the world. (Littlebear, 2000, p. 79)
These words resonated with me when I first started my career in higher education in Canada 15 years after being a school teacher for much of my young adult life in México. Back then, in Mexico, I took for granted the way in which I lived my values. While there were instances and contexts where those values were challenged, it was not until I moved to Canada that I started redefining and reshaping my worldview, negotiating what was negotiable within me, and fighting to maintain my position in what was not negotiable. I am still learning to navigate the world of postsecondary education where I have learned that, as Siksika Elder Leroy Littlebear (2000) observes, “No one has a pure worldview that is 100 percent Indigenous or Eurocentric; rather, everyone has an integrated mind, a fluxing and ambidextrous consciousness” (p. 85). How then, do I show all of who I am when my position toward Indigenous history, culture, language, and values is informed by my own upbringing and experience and consequently might be perceived as “biased”?
This auto-ethnographic chapter addresses this question by presenting a case study where I reflect on Littlebear's (2000) observations on the fluidity of worldviews and the development of an “ambidextrous consciousness,” and how those principles have allowed me the space to be my authentic self despite the different ontological and axiological orientations I have encountered my work in higher education.
Details
Keywords
Paula Chatterjee and Maria Grazia Turri
Service users’ voice is at the forefront of movements within psychiatry that look to create more humanising care. Although genuine co-production of knowledge is limited by the…
Abstract
Purpose
Service users’ voice is at the forefront of movements within psychiatry that look to create more humanising care. Although genuine co-production of knowledge is limited by the power differential intrinsically functional to the health care setting, the arts have the potential to create collaborative environments and equalise relationships. The purpose of this case study is to describe and discuss the design and pilot evaluation of creative writing workshops in a forensic mental health ward as an innovative method for humanising care.
Design/methodology/approach
A creative writing intervention focussing on everyday experiences was implemented in a forensic mental health ward and involved four residents and four mental health professionals working together. Interviews were conducted with the four mental health professionals as part of a service evaluation. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Two themes emerged from the analysis of interviews with mental health professionals: “a new way of learning about each other” and “imagining beyond the staff-resident relationship”. The authors discuss the intervention’s benefits in terms of its potential to foster mutuality and empathy beyond the illness narrative.
Practical implications
Creative writing can be used to engage patients and mental health professionals to jointly share everyday experiences and identities beyond illness.
Originality/value
The creative writing workshops present an innovative approach concerning the use of creative arts for humanising care through mutuality.
Details
Keywords
Maria Giovina Pasca and Gabriella Arcese
This study investigates the user’s perspective regarding opportunities, challenges and implications related to artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT in several…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the user’s perspective regarding opportunities, challenges and implications related to artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT in several contexts, such as education and healthcare. In detail, the aim was to understand user’ perceptions of the relationship between ChatGPT and sustainability and their views about how companies can contribute to achieving well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach the research aim, the study adopts an explorative inductive design, carried out through a qualitative approach and grounded in 34 in-depth consumer interviews.
Findings
The interviewees perceive ChatGPT as a helpful tool that simplifies activities and reduces time and human errors. However, risks associated with using this tool have been identified, such as the reliability of the information provided, the need for more privacy for the requested personal data and the lack of empathy and human interaction. AI tools can support businesses and governments in creating and promoting sustainable strategies and reducing waste. Furthermore, the study shows how these tools can improve the community's well-being by disseminating knowledge and information, supporting workers and generating less stress.
Originality/value
The paper describes the users' perspective on the opportunities of ChatGPT in promoting sustainable development and well-being, providing suggestions for future research.
Details
Keywords
Fatmakhanu (fatima) Pirbhai-Illich, Fran Martin and Shauneen Pete
Maria Vittoria Bufali, Alec Morton and Graham Connelly
Cross-national research on cultural differences can help understand what drives, in differing contexts, mentors' commitment to school-based mentoring programs. This comparative…
Abstract
Purpose
Cross-national research on cultural differences can help understand what drives, in differing contexts, mentors' commitment to school-based mentoring programs. This comparative study aims to explore whether adult volunteers, from Scotland and Italy, experience being mentors of vulnerable youth differently.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from interviews (n = 20) and questionnaires (n = 114) were used to test hypotheses concerning volunteer mentors' perceptions of their role and abilities, as well as motives for participation. According to cross-cultural theories, Scottish mentors should be more likely to identify mentoring with establishing friendly relationships with mentees and promoting youth self-empowerment. They should also be more self-confident and value-driven as volunteers.
Findings
Despite the mixed support for the assumptions concerning how the mentor role is conceived, Scottish mentors were less likely than Italians to doubt their abilities and more driven by other-focused and generative concerns.
Originality/value
The study reveals significant variations in how volunteers from countries featuring different welfare regimes and cultural orientations experience mentoring. The research advances the understanding of how culturally sensitive approaches can foster mentors' engagement.
Details