Search results
1 – 10 of 646Martha Wilcoxson and Jana Craft
This paper aims to explore the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers and how they meet these challenges. The purpose is to identify successful…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers and how they meet these challenges. The purpose is to identify successful decision-making tools used by investment advisers in doing business ethically. Additionally, the authors uncover common challenges and offer decision-making tools to provide support for supplemental ethics training in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
Questions were analyzed through a qualitative approach using individual interviews to examine a range of experiences and attitudes of active financial advisers. The sample was represented by 11 practicing financial advisers affiliated with US independent broker-dealers: six women and five men, each with 10 or more years of experience, ranging in age from 35 to 75. Grounded in four ethical decision-making models, this research examines individual ethical decision-making using individual (internal, personal) and organizational (external, situational) factors.
Findings
The method used uncovered struggles and revealed strategies used in making ethical decisions. Two research questions were examined: what are the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers in the US financial industry? How do financial advisers handle ethical decision-making challenges? Four themes emerged that impacted ethical decision-making: needs of the individual, needs of others, needs of the firm and needs of the marketplace. Financial advisers identified moral obligation, self-control and consulting with others as major considerations when they contemplate difficult decisions.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this review is its small sample size. A more robust sample size from investment advisers with a broader range of experiences could have widened the findings from the study.
Practical implications
Investment advisers can use the findings of this study as a tool for improving their own ethical decision-making or designing training for their employees to be better decision-makers.
Originality/value
The study explores the decision-making experiences of investment advisers to reveal multifaceted, often private struggles that qualitative methods can uncover. The study provides support for the development of additional training in ethical decision-making specific to investment advisers.
Details
Keywords
Hawwa Abdul Mokti, Nor Azzah Kamri and Mohd Abd Wahab Fatoni Mohd Balwi
The purpose of this study is to examine and review tayyiban indicators in the context of halal food production. In Islam, food produced or manufactured must be halal and tayyiban…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine and review tayyiban indicators in the context of halal food production. In Islam, food produced or manufactured must be halal and tayyiban. Even though both halal and tayyiban are always mentioned together in the Quran, the halal aspect is highlighted more than tayyiban. The discussion of tayyiban’s indicators is still vague.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was adopted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for the review of the current research which used two main journal databases, namely, Web of Science and Scopus. Accordingly, the search resulted in a total of 40 articles that can be systematically examined.
Findings
The results of review of these articles formulated five main themes: safety, nutrition, cleanliness, quality and authenticity. These five indicators are considered relevant enough in the context of halal food production to build a comprehensive tayyiban concept.
Originality/value
This study enriches the field of halal food research. The concept of tayyiban as a whole has been given limited attention in academic literature. At the end of this study, a number of recommendations are suggested for the reference of future scholars.
Details
Keywords
Hau Thi Kim Do and Son Thanh Thai
This study addresses the gap in research concerning student attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility (E&SR) within diverse organizational contexts, specifically as they…
Abstract
Purpose
This study addresses the gap in research concerning student attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility (E&SR) within diverse organizational contexts, specifically as they transition into managerial and non-managerial roles.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 425 business students from four universities participated. To determine statistically significant differences between potential managers and non-managers (M&NM), a paired comparison inferential t-test was employed.
Findings
The study revealed positive E&SR attitudes among business students. However, it differed from existing literature by finding a significant difference in perceived E&SR importance between aspirants in managerial and non-managerial positions. Notably, non-managerial students exhibited significantly stronger support for these principles.
Originality/value
This study, conducted in an emerging economy, offers a unique perspective by analyzing E&SR perceptions across both potential management and non-management employees. Given the direct and indirect influence employee perceptions have on business performance, this research sheds light on the crucial role of E&SR in management practices. The findings are further substantiated by robust data and include implications for human resource management, along with suggestions for future research directions.
Details
Keywords
Usman Farooq, Khuram Shahzad, ZhenZhong Guan and Abdul Rauf
This study aims to identify the essential elements impacting the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT) in supply chain management (SCM) by integrating the technology acceptance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the essential elements impacting the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT) in supply chain management (SCM) by integrating the technology acceptance and information system success (ISS) models.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire-based data was collected from 236 supply chain professionals from Beijing. The proposed research framework was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM) by using SPSS 23 and AMOS 24 software.
Findings
The empirical findings specify the positive influence of total quality on perceived usefulness and compatibility. Further, perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness, compatibility and behavioral intention. Moreover, perceived usefulness positively impacts compatibility and behavioral intention. Compatibility positively influences behavioral intention. Finally, technology trust was found to be a significant moderator between perceived usefulness and behavioral intention and between perceived ease of use and adoption intention to use BCT in SCM.
Originality/value
This study empirically develops the second-order construct of total quality, representing the ISS model. Furthermore, this study established how the ISS and technology acceptance models influence behavioral intention through compatibility. Finally, this study confirmed the moderating role of technology trust among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and behavioral intention.
Details
Keywords
Wenting Feng, Yuanping Xu and Lijia Wang
Building on the theory of brand psychological ownership, this paper aims to explore the mediating role of brand psychological ownership in the relationship between brand…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the theory of brand psychological ownership, this paper aims to explore the mediating role of brand psychological ownership in the relationship between brand personality (innocence/coolness) and consumers’ preferences, as well as identify the boundary conditions of this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypotheses, a series of four experiments were conducted in Wuhan, a city in southern China, using questionnaires administered at two universities and two supermarkets. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4.
Findings
The results indicate that brand personality, specifically the dimensions of innocence and coolness, has a significant impact on consumers’ brand preferences. Brands with a cool personality are preferred over those with an innocent personality. Moreover, the relationship between brand personality and consumers’ brand preferences is moderated by power motivation and identity centrality.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by differentiating between brand personality of innocence and coolness as two separate constructs and proposing brand psychological ownership as a mechanism through which brand personality affects brand preferences. The study’s samples were drawn from universities and supermarkets in southern China, providing evidence for the significant moderating effects of power motivation and identity centrality on consumers’ brand preferences.
Details
Keywords
The aim of this paper is to explore the stakeholder exclusion practices of responsible leaders.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the stakeholder exclusion practices of responsible leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive multiple case analyses of seven responsibly led organisations was employed. Twenty-two qualitative interviews were undertaken to investigate and understand perceptions and practice of responsible leaders and their approach to stakeholder inclusion and exclusion.
Findings
The findings revealed new and surprising insights where responsible leaders compromised their espoused values of inclusivity through the application of a personal bias, resulting in the exclusion of certain stakeholders. This exclusivity practice focused on the informal evaluation of potential stakeholders’ values, and where they did not align with those of the responsible leader, these stakeholders were excluded from participation with the organisation. This resulted in the creation and continuity of a culture of shared moral purpose across the organisation.
Research limitations/implications
This study focussed on responsible leader-led organisations, so the next stage of the research will include mainstream organisations (i.e. without explicit responsible leadership) to examine how personal values bias affects stakeholder selection in a wider setting.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that reflexive practice and critically appraising management methods in normative leadership approaches may lead to improvements in diversity management.
Originality/value
This paper presents original empirical data challenging current perceptions of responsible leader inclusivity practices and indicates areas of leadership development that may need to be addressed.
Details
Keywords
Alexis Yim, Annie Peng Cui and Michael Walsh
This paper identifies the effects of different dimensions of the cuteness (i.e. baby schema cuteness and whimsical cuteness) of artificial intelligence (AI) agents on attachment…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper identifies the effects of different dimensions of the cuteness (i.e. baby schema cuteness and whimsical cuteness) of artificial intelligence (AI) agents on attachment to them. In addition, the current paper examines the consequences of the attachment to AI agents.
Design/methodology/approach
A pretest to validate the measurement scale for the attachment to AI agents and a survey study were conducted with AI agent users. The authors used structural equation modeling to analyze the data for hypothesis testing.
Findings
The baby schema and whimsical cuteness of AI agents drive consumers to develop stronger attachments to their AI agents. This is because consumers perceive cute AI agents as being more trustworthy. As a result, consumers who feel attached to their AI agents are more inclined to report higher satisfaction and commitment levels. They are also more likely to purchase products or services recommended by their AI agents and use them more frequently.
Originality/value
Despite the growing popularity of AI agents, there is a lack of understanding regarding which characteristics of AI agents affect consumer behavior. Therefore, this research examines how the attribute of cuteness influences consumers' attachment to AI agents and subsequently affects their satisfaction and purchase intention toward products recommended by AI agents. Our study demonstrates that the element of cuteness in AI agents plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions of benevolence trustworthiness, as well as fostering users' attachment to AI agents. Furthermore, we observe positive consumer behaviors as a result of their attachment to AI agents. The findings from this study provide valuable insights for practitioners on how to effectively utilize cuteness in AI agents.
Details
Keywords
Oswald A. J. Mascarenhas, Munish Thakur and Payal Kumar
This chapter addresses one of the most crucial areas for critical thinking: the morality of turbulent markets around the world. All of us are overwhelmed by such turbulent…
Abstract
Executive Summary
This chapter addresses one of the most crucial areas for critical thinking: the morality of turbulent markets around the world. All of us are overwhelmed by such turbulent markets. Following Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2004, 2010), we distinguish between nonscalable industries (ordinary professions where income grows linearly, piecemeal or by marginal jumps) and scalable industries (extraordinary risk-prone professions where income grows in a nonlinear fashion, and by exponential jumps and fractures). Nonscalable industries generate tame and predictable markets of goods and services, while scalable industries regularly explode into behemoth virulent markets where rewards are disproportionately large compared to effort, and they are the major causes of turbulent financial markets that rock our world causing ever-widening inequities and inequalities. Part I describes both scalable and nonscalable markets in sufficient detail, including propensity of scalable industries to randomness, and the turbulent markets they create. Part II seeks understanding of moral responsibility of turbulent markets and discusses who should appropriate moral responsibility for turbulent markets and under what conditions. Part III synthesizes various theories of necessary and sufficient conditions for accepting or assigning moral responsibility. We also analyze the necessary and sufficient conditions for attribution of moral responsibility such as rationality, intentionality, autonomy or freedom, causality, accountability, and avoidability of various actors as moral agents or as moral persons. By grouping these conditions, we then derive some useful models for assigning moral responsibility to various entities such as individual executives, corporations, or joint bodies. We discuss the challenges and limitations of such models.