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Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

Discrimination has been identified as a major stressor and influence on immigrant health. This study examined the role of perceived discrimination in relation to other factors, in particular, acculturation, in physical and mental health of immigrants and refugees. Data for US adults (18 +  years) were derived from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Mental and physical health was assessed with SF-12. Acculturation and perceived discrimination were assessed with multidimensional measures. Structural equation models were used to estimate the effects of acculturation, stressful life effects, perceived discrimination, and social support on health among immigrants and refugees. Among first-generation immigrants, discrimination in health care had a negative association with physical health while discrimination in general had a negative association with mental health. Social support had positive associations with physical and mental health and mediated the association of discrimination to health. There were no significant associations between discrimination and health among refugees, but the direction and magnitude of associations were similar to those for first-generation immigrants. Efforts aiming at reducing discrimination and enhancing integration/social support for immigrants are likely to help with maintaining and protecting immigrants’ health and well-being. Further research using larger samples of refugees and testing moderating effects of key social/psychosocial variables on immigrant health outcomes is warranted. This study used multidimensional measures of health, perceived discrimination, and acculturation to examine the pathways between key social/psychosocial factors in health of immigrants and refugees at the national level. This study included possibly the largest national sample of refugees.

This paper aims to measure customer-based brand equity in the context of hotels, and to develop and empirically validate a new scale, named guest-based hotel equity (GBHE), by incorporating the customer perceived value of hotels as a multidimensional construct in addition to its traditional dimensions (i.e. brand awareness and brand image).

A structured and self-administered survey was used, targeting 348 hotel guests who were surveyed about their experience with the last hotel they had stayed in during the previous year. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, convergent and discriminant validity and composite reliability.

The empirical findings indicate that GBHE is a multidimensional construct with nine dimensions, namely, hotel awareness, hotel overall image and seven dimensions of customer perceived value (i.e. the values of price, quality, self-gratification, aesthetics, prestige, transaction and hedonism). The new scale is found to have excellent psychometric properties; it has demonstrated its predictive power on behavioral intentions.

Although the authors believe that the sample size was reasonable and adequate for conducting CFA analysis, a bigger sample would be better and might increase the robustness of the proposed scale. In addition, to avoid the retrieval failure problem, hotel guests should be surveyed just after their stay in the hotel or not long afterwards. Further, the hotel classification or hotel star rating was not considered in developing and validating the GBHE scale.

The findings of this study provide hotel managers with a new tool to use in assessing the experiential value of the hotel brand equity, other than conventional hotel awareness and brand image. Further, using the multidimensional construct of perceived value provides hotel managers with more insights into what aspects of hotel brand equity they should focus on to influence the behavioral intentions of their guests.

The originality of this research is highlighted in several points. First, it develops and empirically validates a new scale to measure customer-based brand equity in the hotel context, that is, GBHE. Second, it incorporates the customer perceived value of hotels not as a unidimensional construct that is concerned only with cost, but as a multi-dimensional construct which includes in the GBHE scale dimensions that are both cognitive (i.e. of price and quality) and affective (i.e. of self-gratification, aesthetics, prestige, transaction and hedonism) in addition to its traditional dimensions (i.e. brand awareness and brand image). Third, it assesses the predictive power and relative importance of the GBHE dimensions for behavioral intentions (i.e. loyalty to hotels). Finally, no research has been done so far on the brand equity of hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although it is considered a fertile soil for tourism in the Arabian region.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived social support on postpartum depression (PPD) in Arab immigrant mothers and Turkish mothers.

This descriptive study was conducted with 140 mothers between September 2017 and January 2018. The data was collected via the Turkish and Arabic versions of the sociodemographic questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Percentage and arithmetic mean calculations, independent samples t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, paired logistic regression analysis backward elimination method and Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were conducted to analyze the data.

The data revealed that the risk of PPD was twice as high in Arab immigrant mothers (56.3%) compared to Turkish mothers (29%). The EPDS mean score was 12.37 ± 6.28 for Arab immigrant mothers and 8.81 ± 5.48 for Turkish mothers. The social support mean score was found to be 50.70 ± 19.27 for Arab immigrant mothers and 61.41 ± 16.51 for Turkish mothers. The independent risk factors for Turkish mothers included mother’s age, monthly income level and infant’s age, while the independent risk factors for Arab immigrant mothers included number of children, husband’s status of employment and access to regular medical care during pregnancy. The negative correlation between EPDS and social support overall scores and subscale scores was found to be significant for both groups.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on the impact of social support on PPD in Arab immigrant and Turkish women in the national and international literature. The study helped reveal the correlation between perceived social support and PPD, the PPD risk rates and risk factors according to citizenship status for the first time.

This article aims to empirically illustrate the socially supportive role of cancer resource centers in their members' lives.

The authors employ the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the QLQ-C30 to investigate the relationships between social support and respondents' quality of life. The authors also draw on internal cancer resource center data.

The results show that the type of classes respondents engage in at the center, frequency of class/activity attendance, and member-to-member social support do not influence respondents' perceived quality of life. However, employee-to-member support does enhance a respondent's quality of life.

The study suggests that the activity programming at cancer resource centers is a conduit for the socially supportive relationships that form between and among employees and members. Given that the sample site was situated in a high-income, relatively stable suburban locale, the findings may not generalize to all locales.

The study helps inform medical practitioners about the social supportive benefits that cancer resource centers offer cancer patients. This article discusses a cancer center's Connect-to-Care program, which joins together an oncologist and a cancer center representative at a patient's initial cancer diagnosis.

Oncologists and people living with, or affected by, cancer need to be aware of the healing potential of cancer resource centers.

This article links the third-place paradigm with public health. Cancer resource centers emerge as third places where people living with cancer may obtain support from center employees, which enhances their quality of life.

There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks are supported by mobile health application (mHealth app) functions. Second, drawing on innovation resistance theory (IRT), we examine the impacts of the newly developed HTMS dimensions on perceived usefulness, alongside other barrier factors contributing to technology anxiety.

Using a mixed-method research design, this research seeks to develop new measurement scales that reflect how mHealth apps support older adults’ health-related needs based on interviews. Subsequently, data were collected from older adults and exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 602 older adults.

The PLS-SEM results indicated that medical management task support, dietary task support, and exercise task support were positively associated with perceived usefulness, while perceived complexity and dispositional resistance to change were identified as antecedents of technology anxiety. Perceived usefulness and technology anxiety were found to positively and negatively influence adoption intention, respectively.

This study enriches the information systems literature by developing a multidimensional construct that delineates how older adults’ health-related needs can be supported by features of mHealth apps. Drawing on IRT, we complement the existing literature on resistance to innovation by systematically examining the impact of five types of barriers on technology anxiety.

The importance of sustainable development has become increasingly significant in today’s fast-paced world. The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to solve a range of environmental, economic and social challenges, which requires global collaboration among governments and private organisations. In light of this, social entrepreneurship has garnered significant attention as it combines the social purpose of non-profits with the market-driven approach of for-profits to address SDG goals. Yet the cognitive processes underpinning the career decisions of social entrepreneurs remain underexplored. This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure social entrepreneurial career decisions based on the appraisal of perceived challenges.

The study followed the steps of tool development and was carried out in three phases: item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The final 20-item scale focuses on the appraisal components in pre-entry social entrepreneurial career decision-making and has four factors, which are relevance, coping potential, knowledge and resources and normative significance.

The study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial cognition, specifically focusing on social entrepreneurship. The scale could guide model testing and quantitative research in social entrepreneurial cognition. The four-dimensional structure identified in the study may also have implications for researchers interested in the antecedents and effects of social entrepreneurial decision-making.

Accurate measurement of cognitive appraisal is necessary to understand the perceived challenges and thought processes of potential social entrepreneurs. The scale could be used to examine the cognitive appraisal patterns among students. Social entrepreneurship educators and policymakers can use the scale to design and assess educational programs.

Distinct from existing studies, this scale offers a multidimensional approach that captures the stages of career decision-making, providing a robust tool to enhance our understanding of the decision-making dynamics in social entrepreneurship.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.

The aim of this study is to investigate the gender inequalities in perceived stress and the influencing factors in infertile couples in Iranian society.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on infertile couples who were referring to Kurdistan Infertility Diagnosis and Treatment Medical Center in 2019. Demographic and clinical information questionnaire, Newton's Infertility perceived stress questionnaire, Rosenberg's standard self-confidence questionnaire and the multidimensional scale of social support were used. Multiple linear logistic models were also used.

A total of 560 couples (1,120 people) participated in the study. The average perceived infertility-related stress, self-esteem scores and social support and social-emotional loneliness were 173.95 ± 41.87, 13.99 ± 2.29 and 27.81 ± 7.33, respectively, which were significantly different scores across infertility cause and sex (P < 0.05). Males compared to females had lower perceived infertility-related stress (169.93 ± 42.51 vs 177.97 ± 40.86, P = 0.001) and self-esteem scores (14.33 ± 2.29 vs 13.66 ± 2.24, P < 0.001) and social support and social-emotional loneliness (32.92 ± 9.31 vs 30.94 ± 9.04, P < 0.001). The partners who reported themselves as infertile, compared significantly higher in perceived infertility-related stress than those who reported their spouse being infertile (194.24 ± 35.33 vs 141.90 ± 39.28), lower self-esteem scores (12.77 ± 2.21 vs 13.94 ± 1.56) and social support and social-emotional loneliness score (27.81 ± 7.33 vs 30.11 ± 7.70). Also, after taking potential confounders into account with increase in each score of self-esteem, 12.19 units of stress decreases (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 11.40–12.99) and with increase in each score of social support and social-emotional loneliness, 3.45 units of stress decreases (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 3.28–3.63).

There is perceived stress among infertile couples, and this rate is higher among infertile people and women. Therefore, it seems that specific intervention programs for infertile couples should be implemented based on the results of this study, and their stress levels in a way that self-esteem and support for both partners be increased and the perceived stress among women and infertile individuals be decreased.