Search results

This study aims to uses biosocial gender theory to describe successful entrepreneurial behavior in conflict zones. Specifically, the authors investigate how the reliance on agentic (assertive, individual focused) behavior and communal (facilitative and friendly) behavior lead to differential outcomes depending on the physical gender of the entrepreneur exhibiting the behavior.

The authors developed a conceptual framework based on extant literature. To test the framework, the authors gathered survey data from Iraqi-Kurdish entrepreneurs who have been living in a state of war since the late 1980s and use a novel analytical method to deal with the limitations inherent in gathering survey data in conflict zones. Qualitative data is presented to generate a better understanding of the survey results.

The findings indicate females who are successful in taking on the traditional male role of entrepreneur in conflict zones engage in lower levels of agentic behavior compared to their male counterparts. Successful entrepreneurs (male and female) rely extensively on communal behavior in their ventures. When it comes to community development, male entrepreneurs engaging in agentic behavior, seem to mentor aspiring entrepreneurs more than females. Females relying on communal behavior engage in more mentoring of aspiring entrepreneurs than males.

An understanding of the unique gender dynamics underlying entrepreneurial behavior in conflict zones remains incomplete. The study introduces evidence that gender differences, as well as social factors, combine with the unique characteristics of conflict zones resulting in different behavioral paths to entrepreneurial success. The analytical method introduces some statistical tools to scholars attempting to understand the unique conflict zone context. As such, the study provides guidance for scholars working in this context, as well as NGO’s and other institutions seeking to train entrepreneurs and improve economic conditions in conflict zones.

Challenging behaviour among school pupils has been the focus of extensive research in the UK and beyond; however, there has been a lack of recent comparable research on these issues in the further education (FE) sector. This paper aims to report the findings from a larger PhD research examining the introduction of interventions based on restorative justice implemented in colleges. This study focuses on the extent and nature of challenging student behaviour, as explained and understood by the students and staff.

The author used an interpretivist exploratory case study design and mixed qualitative research methods. The institute considered in the case study, Restorative College (pseudonymised), has education provisions for students aged 16+ years and enrols over 16,000 students annually. In the academic year 2017/2018, Restorative College committed itself to becoming a “restorative” institution. Data collection consisted of three stages (including semi-structured interviews, analyses of institutional policy documents and focus group discussions) and was conducted over 14 months.

The extent and nature of challenging student behaviours in the FE sector are significant and merit further research and analysis to support policy development.

Given the research methods adopted (single case study and qualitative research), the findings do not necessarily represent experiences across the FE sector.

This study emphasises the need to expand research on challenging behaviour in the FE sector, which has been limited thus far, also making a contribution in this direction.

Although the place stakeholders play a key role in participatory place branding, surprisingly little interest has been shown in the people involved in participatory place branding initiatives. The purpose of this study is to explore place stakeholders’ perceptions of the meaning and scope of place branding.

This paper is based on two cases of participatory place branding, and the research design is inspired by participatory action research. The empirical material comprises observations, qualitative questionnaires and interviews.

This study identifies and describes four paradoxes in place stakeholders’ perceptions of the meaning and scope of place branding, embracing the target group (internal vs external), the objective (explore vs exploit), the stakeholders’ role (active vs passive) and the main value of place branding initiatives (process vs outcome). Furthermore, in this study, the place stakeholders’ paradoxical perceptions of place branding meant that, during the participatory processes, the authors encountered and needed to manage various opinions and behaviours, for example, “critics”, “innovators” and “relators”.

This paper contributes with a new perspective on participatory place branding. By capturing place stakeholders’ perceptions and understanding of place branding, this paper develops our knowledge and understanding of the starting point of participatory processes.

This study aims to expose the challenges associated with theory development and its implementation, as it relates to services marketing and hospitality management. The author summarizes the literature, creates a conceptual model and proposes directions to bridge the theory–practice divide.

The author synthesizes and extends the literatures of services marketing, general marketing and hospitality management through a systematic literature review. A conceptual model is created to illustrate the challenges related to theory development and implementation.

Four types of theory challenges and three contemporary practical challenges are presented. The challenges for theory development include a communications gap, difficulties in applying universal theories into idiosyncratic organizations, researchers disconnected from practice and practitioners disconnected from research. Contemporary practical concerns include: human resource constraints, customer behavior and misbehavior and the organizational and business environment.

Managers can bring contemporary business challenges to the forefront by collaborating and writing with scholars. Similarly, keeping abreast of the latest advances in customer service, applying best practices in human resource management, educating and cocreating with customers are among several recommendations proposed to managers and marketers. Internal and external scanning can assure that managers engage in efforts to reduce barriers to implementation and improve services in their organizations.

Despite the decades-long study of customer service, organizations still struggle to deliver exceptional service. This study informs scholars on developing and communicating theories and managers on how to better access and interpret the latest research. In order for research to be successfully generated and implemented, scholars can engage in efforts aimed at joint (researchers and managers) idea generation, publication in multiple outlets, sampling that resembles real life, adoption of contingency theories and reconsidering journal editorial and institutional policies.

The purpose of this study reports the effects of aspect ratio (AR) on mean flow characteristics of the cruciform orifice jet.

The aspect ratio is the height-to-width ratio of the lobe of the cruciform shape. The aspect ratios considered are 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turbulent jet flow is issued through an orifice being fitted to the jet tunnel facility. The velocity measurements are recorded with the help of pitot-static tube connected to a digital manometer setup. The Reynolds number calculated using the equivalent diameter 50.46 × 10^–3 m and exit velocity 51.23 m/s was 1.75 × 10⁵. Based on the experimental data, the streamline velocity decay plots, the potential core length (PCL), mean velocity profiles and velocity half widths were plotted, and discussions were made based on the measured data. A smoke-based flow visualization was carried out at moderate Reynolds number 5396.

The PCL remains almost constant for the aspect ratio 0.25:1 and then starts decreasing for the aspect ratio 1:4. The decrease in PCL indicates improved mixing. The off-center peaks are found along the major axis in mean velocity profiles for almost all cruciform jets. More than one axis switching occurs and can be identified by the crossover points. The location of the first crossover point shifts forward, and the second crossover point shows an oscillating trend. The flow visualization exhibits the jet evolution, and the distance up to which the jet maintains the cruciform shape is increased with the aspect ratio.

The experiments are limited to air in air jet under isothermal conditions.

The cruciform orifices can be used as fuel injectors and in air-conditioning systems, thereby improving efficiency and energy usage.

The aspect ratio effects on PCL and axis switching are used to explain the mixing characteristics. Flow visualization was also used to support the discussion.

This paper aims to determine the significance of tourist walkability on three community-based tourism sustainability indicators, namely, the economic, social and environmental benefits and costs impacting community’s quality of life through the lens of the triple bottom line approach with the institutional theory.

This study views institutions as either enabling or restricting the sustainable community-based tourism because institutions influence resource integration and value assessment by the beneficiary. Moreover, institutions also lead the co-creation of sustainable community-based tourism among various stakeholders. Drawing on this conceptualisation, the notion of sustainable community-based tourism is filtered through the lens of institutional theory. Thus, this work approaches sustainable community-based tourism as a dynamic process of co-creating a tourist destination formed by different actors’ and institutions within the ecosystem of the tourist destination. Meanwhile, the triple bottom line benefits and costs experienced by the overall community would produce net effects on the residents’ perceptions of sustainable tourism.

This paper classifies both tangible and intangible costs and benefits because of tourist walkability and its triple bottom line trade-offs experienced by tourists and residents. This paper penetrates new grounds by reviewing the triple bottom line impacts of tourist walkability on residents’ quality of life. Government policies as mediating variable and national culture and individual personalities of tourists and residents as moderating variables were discussed. A conceptual framework named Tourist Walkability Sustainable Tourism Impact on Residents (TWSTIR) is proposed. Finally, a Sustainable Community-based Tourism Strategic (SCBTS) model which is based on the two dimensions of intensity of tourist walkability and residents’ quality of life is proposed.

Research limitations may include a lack of assessment on political, technological and legal issues, and therefore, future research is warranted in these three areas. Some emotions and attitudes of the residents may not be captured since the Gross National Index (Gross National Happiness) may have its inherent blind spots.

This paper would be of interest to the scholarly world, as its original idea and concluding research agenda are burrowing into a new sub-field of tourism research. In view of growth and degrowth of sustaining community-based tourism, the SCBTS model is presented to provide directions for tourism policymakers and entrepreneurs to formulate and implement appropriate strategy for the tourist walkability activity per se and investment in the accompanying infrastructure.

This paper also presents the sacrifices and inequities in the communities and the relevance of government policies, national culture and individual personalities of tourists and residents, in which the attention of tourism policymakers and the communities that thrive on the travel and tourism industry should not be neglected.

The idea and discussion of this paper is original. This paper burrows into a new sub-field of tourism research. Tourist walkability needs more attention from the scholars, as this tourist activity can have positive and negative effects on residents’ quality of life. The TWSTIR framework is developed to discuss the relationships of tourist walkability, triple bottom line concept and residents’ quality of life within the sustainable community-based tourism scope. The SCBTS model is presented for tourism policymakers and entrepreneurs to perform appropriate strategy for the tourist walkability activity and investment in the accompanying infrastructure.

Research on market information use in product innovation suggests that firms utilize two key strategic decision-making processes: incremental and comprehensive. Drawing from organizational information processing theory, literature implies that these processes operate differently. However, this assumption remains untested. Moreover, the degree to which a comprehensive process affects the innovation strategy outcomes depends on market information time sensitivity (MITS) and analyzability. To-date, no study has tested these assertions, either. Finally, it is suggested that meaningful market strategy is a key driver of new product success and it is important to understand how decision-making processes influence it under differing time sensitivity and analyzability.

Based on survey data from 250 Chinese firms, authors use structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.

The results generally support authors’ contentions. More specifically, marketing strategy outcomes are influenced by marketing strategy incrementality (MSI) and marketing strategy comprehensiveness (MSC) differently. Further, time sensitivity moderates the effect of both MSI and MSC on outcomes, except for the effect of MSI on decision quality. Finally, analyzability moderates the relationships between decision making processes and certain strategy outcomes such as between MSI and meaningfulness.

Drawing from information processing theory, authors argue that incremental and comprehensive marketing strategy decision making for new product operate differentially under the same conditions. Further, the effects of these decision processes on outcomes depend on time sensitivity and analyzability of market information. Finally, auhtors argue that meaningful market strategy is a driver of success. The authors find support for most of our hypotheses and provide directions for future research.

Drawing on the competing values framework, we look at the relationship of different organizational cultures (clan, hierarchy, adhocracy and market) with organizational performance. Furthermore, we examine the mediating role of knowledge sharing (attitude and behavior) in the organizational culture and organizational performance relationship.

We draw on survey data from 241 respondents working in the aerospace and aviation manufacturing and services firms in Pakistan (85), Turkey (65) and the United Arab Emirates (91). We employ structural equation modeling for data analysis.

Results suggest that knowledge sharing partially mediates the relationship between clan culture and organizational performance, and fully mediates the market culture and organizational performance relationship. Hierarchy culture is only positively related to organizational performance, while adhocracy culture shows no relationship with knowledge sharing, let alone organizational performance.

While knowledge sharing enhances organizational performance, there is limited knowledge with regard to the specific organizational culture(s) conducive to knowledge sharing and organizational performance. The study extends existing research on the topic and contributes by showing which cultures are more conducive to knowledge sharing and organizational performance and which are less.

The development of successful Sustainable Development Goals realization cannot be divorced from regulations governing sustainability information. Therefore, limited research on the regulatory environment regarding sustainability reporting in the Malaysian context requires further examination to ascertain the current framework. This study aims to critically assess the Malaysian Companies Act 2016 and Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) to examine the regulatory environment regarding the sustainability reporting framework. The examination is done to determine the extent of support provided under the Malaysian regulatory environment for the said practice.

A doctrinal methodology that relies on the extant literature, statutory instruments and case laws complemented by content analysis is adopted to explore the current regulatory environment regarding sustainability reporting.

The findings indicate that the Companies Act 2016 has already paved the way for the integration of corporate sustainability through the Business Review Report (BRR). However, the application is voluntary and hence could lead to inconsistent implementation. The MCCG has introduced the integrated reporting practice, but the application is limited to large companies on “apply and report” approach. This practice is voluntary to other types of companies, which diminishes the importance of sustainability reporting and gives rise to doubt about its efficiency in addressing sustainability in the long term. The current framework for sustainability reporting cannot be considered satisfactory, given the significance of sustainable development to the Malaysian economy and society, due to a lack of appropriate legal obligations.

This study is presently amongst the available legal literature on sustainability reporting practice in Malaysia, adding to its originality. This paper hopes to stimulate discussion among academicians on incorporating sustainability principles in the Companies Act 2016 and expanding directors’ duties.

Although the debate about the interplay between quality management and organizational culture is long established, extant knowledge about their link is not consistent. This article attempts to fill such a gap by integrating current perspectives and insights through a literature review.

A domain-based literature review has been conducted, which followed the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews. The knowledge core consisted of 76 items, which were analysed through bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis. An interpretive approach was taken to articulate the study findings.

The current scholarly debate unfolds through four research streams, which emphasize the need for joint optimizing quality management and organizational culture embracing a longitudinal perspective. Similarly, the theoretical roots inspiring reviewed contributions are distributed in four clusters, which rely on the assumption that organizational excellence derives from the harmonization of quality management and organizational culture.

Quality management necessitates a supportive organizational culture to set the ground for excellence. At the same time, it modifies the inner traits of the organizational culture. Such cultural changes should be carefully handled to ensure a dependable quality orientation. Achieving organizational excellence involves mastering the interplay between quality management and organizational culture.

This article delivers an unprecedented systematization of the scientific literature. It identifies the main research streams through which the debate on quality management and culture evolves, shedding light on the main conceptual roots inspiring recent scholarly advancements. Alongside overcoming the fragmentation of the extant debate, this review enables the envisioning of an agenda for further developments.