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1 – 10 of over 1000Natalia G. Vidal, Wellington Spetic, Simon Croom and Donna Marshall
This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship.
Findings
The results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens.
Practical implications
For those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices.
Originality/value
This study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.
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This article examines if the national productions of West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries can be substituted for the imports by testing MLRC in these…
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines if the national productions of West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries can be substituted for the imports by testing MLRC in these countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The Mundell–Fleming model (MMF) is the analytical framework adopted in this paper with import demand and export supply functions estimation borrowed to Thirlwall (1979). This study covers four countries in West Africa from 1990 to 2021. The estimation procedure used is an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration.
Findings
The findings reveal that there is a strong marginal propensity to import in the WAEMU countries. The hypothesis of a non-significant price effect on imports in the short-term is confirmed for several countries while only Togo satisfies the MLRC in the short and long run.
Originality/value
This study presents several originalities: (1) it evaluates MLRC with a clear analytical framework; (2) unlike other studies, this article quantifies the MLRC from a theoretical, econometric and empirical point of view; (3) this article presents the results country by country in order to reveal heterogeneity between countries; (4) this study adds to the Marshall–Lerner condition for the derivation of Robinson by considering a situation where initially the trade balance is not in equilibrium.
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David Philippy, Rebeca Gomez Betancourt and Robert W. Dimand
In the years following the publication of A Theory of Consumption (1923), Hazel Kyrk’s book became the flagship of the field that would later be known as the economics of…
Abstract
In the years following the publication of A Theory of Consumption (1923), Hazel Kyrk’s book became the flagship of the field that would later be known as the economics of consumption. It stimulated theoretical and empirical work on consumption. Some of the existing literature on Kyrk (e.g., Kiss & Beller, 2000; Le Tollec, 2020; Tadajewski, 2013) depicted her theory as the starting point of the economics of consumption. Nevertheless, how and why it emerged the way it did remain largely unexplored. This chapter examines Kyrk’s intellectual background, which, we argue, can be traced back to two main movements in the United States: the home economics and the institutionalist. Both movements conveyed specific endeavors as responses to the US material and social transformations that occurred at the turn of the 20th century, notably the perceived changing role of consumption and that of women in US society. On the one hand, Kyrk pursued first-generation home economists’ efforts to make sense of and put into action the shifting of women’s role from domestic producer to consumer. On the other hand, she reinterpreted Veblen’s (1899) account of consumption in order to reveal its operational value for a normative agenda focused on “wise” and “rational” consumption. This chapter studies how Kyrk carried on first-generation home economists’ progressive agenda and how she adapted Veblen’s fin-de-siècle critical account of consumption to the context of the household goods developed in 1900–1920. Our account of Kyrk’s intellectual roots offers a novel narrative to better understand the role of gender and epistemological questions in her theory.
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Afshin Yaghoubi and Seyed Taghi Akhavan Niaki
One of the common approaches to improve systems reliability is using standby redundancy. Although many works are available in the literature on the applications of standby…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the common approaches to improve systems reliability is using standby redundancy. Although many works are available in the literature on the applications of standby redundancy, the system components are assumed to be independent of each other. But, in reality, the system components can be dependent on one another, causing the failure of each component to affect the failure rate of the remaining active components. In this paper, a standby two-unit system is considered, assuming a dependency between the switch and its associated active component.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper assumes that the failures between the switch and its associated active component follow the Marshall–Olkin exponential bivariate exponential distribution. Then, the reliability analysis of the system is done using the continuous-time Markov chain method.
Findings
The derived equations application to determine the system steady-state availability, system reliability and sensitivity analysis on the mean time to failure is demonstrated using a numerical illustration.
Originality/value
All previous models assumed independency between the switch and the associated active unit in the standby redundancy approach. In this paper, the switch and its associated component are assumed to be dependent on each other.
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Cole J. Crider, Alireza Aghaey, Jason Lortie, Whitney O. Peake and Shaun Digan
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine how individuals’ hybrid entrepreneurial venturing activities (HEVA) influence key characteristics associated with one’s wage…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine how individuals’ hybrid entrepreneurial venturing activities (HEVA) influence key characteristics associated with one’s wage work, namely creativity and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a cross-sectional self-administered survey design, data were gathered from 465 US-based useable responses via Amazon Mechanical Turk and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Findings show individuals reporting higher levels of HEVA – such as creating, founding, starting or running – tend to also exhibit higher levels of creativity and job satisfaction in their workplaces. Findings further reveal that income negatively moderates the relationship between creativity and wage work job satisfaction.
Practical implications
By providing a better understanding of how engaging in HEVA can impact creativity and job satisfaction, this study has important implications for (1) managers seeking to influence key employee outcomes and (2) employees considering such entrepreneurial activities.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the growing scholarly and practitioner interest in hybrid entrepreneurship and its outcomes. Specifically, the paper adds new insights regarding how engaging in HEVA can influence individual skills (i.e. creativity) or organizational goals (i.e. employee job satisfaction). In doing so, the paper also uses insights from the intrinsic/extrinsic motivation literature to suggest how extrinsic motivators (such as income) can interact with intrinsically motivated behaviors (such as creativity) in influencing employee outcomes in wage work. Finally, the paper contributes to the growing interest in applying the empowerment perspective within entrepreneurship research by exploring where and how empowerment may occur.
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Lars Mjøset, Roel Meijer, Nils Butenschøn and Kristian Berg Harpviken
This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial…
Abstract
This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.
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Hakan Karaosman and Donna Marshall
This impact pathways paper proposes that operations and supply chain management (OSCM) can help to ensure that the transition from a high-carbon to low-carbon fashion industry…
Abstract
Purpose
This impact pathways paper proposes that operations and supply chain management (OSCM) can help to ensure that the transition from a high-carbon to low-carbon fashion industry takes place in a just, inclusive and fair way. By immersion in fashion brands, suppliers and workers' realities across multiple supply chains, the authors identify challenges and issues related to just transitions, whilst proposing research pathways to inspire future OSCM research and collaboration using innovative and creative methods to answer complex questions related to just transition.
Design/methodology/approach
The research the authors introduce used a multi-level field research approach to investigate multiple fashion supply chains in transition.
Findings
The authors uncovered that in the pursuit of lowering carbon emissions, fast-fashion giants work with industrial associations to create top-down governance tools, leading to severe problems in supply chain data and paradoxical demands. These demands are cascaded onto the workers in these supply chains. The goals and tools dictated by the fashion giants exclude workers, whilst the physiological and psychological effects on the workers are routinely ignored. These issues impede a just transition to a low-carbon fashion industry.
Originality/value
The authors introduce concepts largely missing from OSCM literature and ensure representation of the most marginalised group, supply chain workers, in a novel setting in a call for research in this emerging area.
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Lindsey M. Harper, Elizabeth D. James, Soohyung Joo and Youngseek Kim
Today’s undergraduate students have spent a significant portion of their lives using YouTube for various reasons, whether for entertainment, personal development or academic…
Abstract
Purpose
Today’s undergraduate students have spent a significant portion of their lives using YouTube for various reasons, whether for entertainment, personal development or academic learning purposes. This study aims to investigate how system factors (i.e. reliability, usability and searchability), interaction factors (i.e. provider and user interactions) and content factors (i.e. format, relevance and coverage) affect undergraduate students’ satisfaction with YouTube and their intentions to adopt YouTube for learning purposes.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses the information systems success model as its theoretical framework to explore the system, interaction and content factors associated with undergraduate students’ satisfaction with YouTube and their intentions to use YouTube for learning. The proposed hypotheses were examined by the structural equation modelling technique based on a survey with 345 undergraduate students at a Southeastern institution in the USA.
Findings
The results indicate that both system factors (including reliability, usability and searchability) and content factors (including format, relevance and coverage) have a statistically significant effect on students’ satisfaction with YouTube. This study also demonstrates that students’ satisfaction with YouTube significantly influences their intentions to use the platform for learning purposes.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed research model provides a novel perspective in understanding the complex nature of students’ adoption of YouTube for learning purposes, led by both system and content factors mediated by satisfaction with YouTube.
Practical implications
This study suggests that when YouTube is intuitive to use and relevant content is added to the platform regularly, students are more likely to adopt this platform for learning purposes. As a result, it is critical that librarians remain aware of information-seeking practices and platforms used by students to tailor approaches to teaching information literacy to help students understand how to use the platform effectively.
Originality/value
Using the information systems success model, this research sheds light on the roles of system and content factors in undergraduate students’ satisfaction with YouTube and their intentions to use it for learning.
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Zuzana 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.
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The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA impacted traffic safety.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA impacted traffic safety.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors explored the role of vehicle, user and built environment factors on traffic fatalities in the USA, comparing results during COVID-19 lockdowns (March 19th through April 30th, 2020) to results for the same time period during the five preceding years. The authors accomplished this through proportional comparisons and negative binomial regression models.
Findings
While traffic levels were 30%–50% below normal during the COVID-19 lockdowns, all traffic fatalities decreased by 18.3%, pedestrian fatalities decreased by 19.0% and bicyclist fatalities increased by 3.6%. Fatal COVID-19 crashes were more likely single-vehicle crashes involving fixed objects or rollovers. COVID-19 traffic fatalities were most common on arterial roadways and in lower density suburban built environments. Findings suggest the importance of vulnerable road users, speed management and holistic built environment policy when pursuing safety on the streets.
Originality/value
The findings have road safety implications not only for future pandemics and other similar events where we would expect decreases in motor vehicle volumes (such as natural disasters and economic downturns) but also for cities that are pursuing mode shift away from personal automobiles and toward alternative modes of transportation.
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