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The purpose of the present study is to investigate the extent to which female and male university students from low-income countries express different entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, the study empirically tests whether the anticipated financial returns to entrepreneurship versus salaried employment, or the perceived barriers to entrepreneurship exert a stronger influence on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial intentions.

To test the relationship of anticipated rewards versus barriers to entrepreneurship on gender and entrepreneurial intention, the study uses new data from a field survey in Sierra Leone and employs multiple mediation analyses.

The authors find that the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial intentions operates through the mediator of perceptions of the financial returns to entrepreneurship but not perceived barriers to entrepreneurship.

The authors study intent, not behavior, acknowledging that cognitive intent is a powerful predictor of later behavior. Implications for future research on entrepreneurship in the African context are discussed.

The results from this study can be applied to both pedagogic and business settings in the field of entrepreneurship, with concrete implications for policymakers.

Results suggest that the gender gap in entrepreneurial intentions (EI) for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)- and business-educated students in Sierra Leone is predominantly influenced by anticipated financial returns to occupational choices, as opposed to perceived barriers to entrepreneurship, a more frequently studied antecedent to EI.

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Islamic banks in Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (i.e. Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia). On top of that, the effect of Shariah governance disclosure on Islamic banks financial performance is investigated.

Data underwent quantitative content analysis and a mean comparison of the Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms as well as multiple regression analysis. Shariah governance information is obtained from the Islamic banks' official websites and the Bursa Malaysia Exchange.

The results of the content analysis revealed that the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Malaysian Islamic banks has been more pronounced than in the GCC countries. Additionally, the multiple regression analysis results specified that of the five Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms, the Shariah committee emerged as the strongest determinant in the financial performance of the Islamic banks, followed by transparency and disclosure.

Islamic banks should emphasise publishing Shariah governance information in annual reports to reflect superior accounting practices as assessed by certified Shariah auditors with an effective monitoring system.

The empirical findings are vital for serving as a guideline for Islamic banks in Malaysia and the GCC countries to disclose their practice of Shariah governance and gain empirical insights into its effect on firms’ financial performance. Following that, Islamic banks would improve their accounting practices while adhering to Shariah principles, strengthen internal controls and boost their brand reputation.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous businesses have migrated to an online delivery platform (ODP) to survive and reconnect with their customers. This study aims to focus on how the public perceives ODP. It examined the acceptance of digital platforms for delivering daily necessities, especially food, in Brunei Darussalam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The online survey collected 350 valid samples, and the online questions were distributed using a snowball sampling method, with the questionnaire’s softcopy prepared in Qualtrics and sent via email and social media as hyperlinks. In 2021, we sent out the questionnaire link via email, WhatsApp and Facebook to people and organizations for about six months.

According to the findings of the study, product quality is a critical factor that consumers consider while making online purchases of different products. The COVID-19 condition positively affects customer acceptance, performance, effort and product quality. This research indicates that service quality, online habits and trust do not influence customer acceptance of an ODP.

The study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding factors influencing the acceptance of ODPs. The factors that influence people’s acceptance of ODPs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, are assessed as to whether the COVID-19 pandemic influences people’s acceptance and the identified factor that has the strongest influence on the acceptance of digital delivery platforms.

The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about how customer behaviors triggered by the COVID-19 condition influence customer acceptance of ODP and how behavior influences customer acceptance of ODP.

This paper is useful to academics, practitioners and policymakers in public administration and policy management. The research provides some insights into massive adoption of ODPs that affects the disruption of conventional business practices.

The present research aims to investigate how lean project management (LPM) and agile project management (APM) affect project performance outcomes in the construction sector in Jordan. This study focuses on six key project performance outcomes, namely cost, time, quality, client satisfaction, innovation and responsiveness.

The present study employed a quantitative approach to achieve the research objectives. Accordingly, a multi-item survey questionnaire was prepared to gather data from 392 project managers from construction companies in Jordan. The study’s model showed acceptable levels regarding reliability, validity, fit indices and discriminant validity. In order to test the hypotheses of this study, path analysis was employed using Amos 24.0 software.

LPM demonstrated a remarkably high positive impact on cost performance. It also positively affected quality performance and client satisfaction. However, LPM insignificantly affected time, innovation and responsiveness performance measures. On the other hand, APM showed a notably high positive impact on innovation and responsiveness. The findings also revealed that APM positively impacted quality performance and client satisfaction. In addition, APM negatively impacted cost performance and insignificantly impacted time performance.

This study is one of the first comprehensive studies to empirically examine the impact of both LPM and APM on various project performance outcomes in the construction industry in the context of a developing country. It reveals some similarities and differences between LPM and APM with regard to their impacts on project management outcomes. The findings are expected to guide managers in selecting the appropriate project management approach based on the desired performance outcomes. Accordingly, it offers important implications for project managers in construction companies.

The study aims to examine the impact of intellectual and social capital in funding businesses.

The study made use of fixed-effects panel data models with a sample of 142 countries from the five continents during the period 1998–2018.

It was found that human capital (HC), relational capital, structural capital and social capital play a role in investors’ decisions to fund a business. The study revealed that investors’ funding decisions in low human development index countries are based mainly on education, while those in high human development index countries are based mainly on the creativity component of HC and on relational, structural and social capital.

The study needs to be replicated using firm-level data within each country. Moreover, the search for new proxies for intellectual and social capital (although the list of variables is exhaustive) both at the country and firm level, constitutes an interesting avenue for future research.

Countries should pay attention to intellectual and social capital to encourage business activity. In particular, low human development countries should strengthen HC, such as the school enrollment rate, with early entrepreneurial training and increase research and development investments, while high human development countries should continue to foster strategic alliances, protect intellectual property and maintain or increase the level of trust in the country.

The study contributes to literature by being the first to explore such a variety of intellectual and social capital variables from a country-level perspective.

El estudio tiene como objetivo examinar el impacto del capital intelectual y social en la financiación de las empresas.

Utilizamos modelos de datos de panel de efectos fijos con una muestra de 142 países de los cinco continentes durante el periodo 1998-2018.

Encontramos que el capital humano (CH), el capital relacional, el capital estructural y el capital social juegan un papel en las decisiones de los inversionistas para financiar un negocio. Encontramos que las decisiones de financiamiento de los inversionistas en los países con bajo índice de desarrollo humano se basan principalmente en la educación, mientras que las de los países con alto índice de desarrollo humano se basan principalmente en el componente de creatividad del CH y en el capital relacional, estructural y social.

Sugerimos replicar el estudio utilizando datos a nivel de empresa dentro de cada país. Por otra parte, la búsqueda de nuevos indicadores de capital intelectual y social (aunque nuestra lista de variables es exhaustiva) tanto a nivel de país como de empresa, constituye una vía interesante para futuras investigaciones.

Los países deben prestar atención al capital intelectual y social para fomentar la actividad empresarial. En particular, los países con bajo desarrollo humano deberían fortalecer el CH, como la tasa de matriculación escolar, con una formación empresarial temprana y aumentar las inversiones en investigación y desarrollo, mientras que los países con un alto nivel de desarrollo humano deberían seguir fomentando las alianzas estratégicas, proteger la propiedad intelectual y mantener o aumentar el nivel de confianza en el país.

El estudio contribuye a la literatura al ser el primero en explorar tal variedad de variables de capital intelectual y social desde una perspectiva a nivel de país.

This study examined Indian institutional investors' holding data to understand their investment strategy (Portfolio Concentration/Diversification) and explored whether their skills were associated with their portfolio strategy and performance. The study introduced a new proxy to identify skilled investors by forecasting abnormal returns. Moreover, the study also highlighted where skilled Indian investors put their money for long-term investment.

This study measures portfolio concentration based on the number of holdings, the Hirschman–Herfindahl index (HHI) and benchmarks adjusted industry concentration. The study introduced a new proxy to identify skilled investors. We measured Investors' performance with the help of Carhart's four factors model and examined the relationship between variables through various regression models.

The study concluded a negative relationship between portfolio concentration and performance. However, skilled Indian investors get rewards from portfolio concentration decisions. It was found that skilled investors with few stocks and an industry concentration in their portfolio show a positive association between concentration and fund performance. Additionally, this study found Indian investors showing their faith in the financial sector for long-term investment.

This study examined Indian institutional investors' portfolio concentration strategy and introduced a new proxy to measure investors' skills.

This study aims to examine the direct influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention and the mediating roles of employee cynicism and job embeddedness.

Surveys were conducted to collect data in 3 waves, and 211 samples were finally obtained. The hypothesised relationships were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses and ProClin bootstrapping.

The results suggested that supervisor ostracism was positively related to employee turnover intention and that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played mediating roles. The analysis further confirmed that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played serial, double-mediating roles between supervisor ostracism and employee turnover intention.

This study helps understand the influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention, mitigating undesirable consequences that lead to employee turnover intention.

This study refines the knowledge on workplace ostracism, explores the impact of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention from different perspectives and reveals the relationship between them. It integrated cultural factors in a Chinese context, providing a further reference for local management practices.

This study investigates how personality traits influence individuals’ intention to become community group buying (CGB) leaders.

Data include 517 valid questionnaires that are employed to examine the research model and test the hypotheses using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

This study reveals that among the Big Five personality traits, extroversion and neuroticism have more impact on the perceived ease of use and usefulness of social media, and individuals with high levels of these traits are more likely to become CGB leaders. Perceived ease of use only mediates the relationship between agreeableness and CGB leader intention, whereas perceived usefulness mediates the relationships between conscientiousness and CGB leader intention and neuroticism and CGB leader intention.

This study can serve as a catalyst for advancing the exploration of how personality traits and social media affect the intention of being CGB leaders. In addition, the study investigates the mediating effect of social media technology acceptance obtaining valuable insights into how social media affects individuals’ intention to become CGB leaders, expanding the research in this field.

• (1)

  Individuals with extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness personality traits exhibit higher perceived ease of use and usefulness of social media.

• (2)

  Unlike previous research suggested, neurotic individuals appear to be attracted to becoming community group buying (CGB) leaders.

• (3)

  Individuals with high agreeableness are encouraged by ease in pursuing CGB leadership.

• (4)

  Perceived usefulness mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and CGB leadership intention and neuroticism and CGB leader intention.

Individuals with extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness personality traits exhibit higher perceived ease of use and usefulness of social media.

Unlike previous research suggested, neurotic individuals appear to be attracted to becoming community group buying (CGB) leaders.

Individuals with high agreeableness are encouraged by ease in pursuing CGB leadership.

Perceived usefulness mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and CGB leadership intention and neuroticism and CGB leader intention.

This study aims to understand what primary relationship problem mechanisms can exist in the franchise channel and how exchange partners respond to them. This study demonstrates how the franchisor’s relationship problem mechanisms (threat, contract enforcement) affect the franchisee’s negative active responses (venting, threatened withdrawal).

This study tested hypotheses through multiple regression analysis using data from 200 franchisees in Korea-based food franchise systems.

The results indicated that threat increases venting and threatened withdrawal, while contract enforcement only increases venting. Venting increases threatened withdrawal. In addition, the results indicated that the franchisor’s behavior monitoring positively moderates the relationship between relationship problem mechanisms and negative active responses.

This study helps strategically manage responses to relationship problems by categorizing ‘relationship problem mechanisms’ into intentional relationship problem mechanisms based on communication (threat) and unintentional relationship problem mechanisms based on action (contract enforcement). This study finds that both relationship problem mechanisms, intentional or unintentional, eventually cause threatened withdrawal directly or indirectly. Even if the threat is merely communication, not action, it is more likely to cause relationship dissolution than contract enforcement by directly triggering any negative active response. This study also finds that behavior monitoring can affect exchange partners through interaction with other management mechanisms rather than directly affecting them.

Teamwork is necessary for engineering to address today’s complex challenges. Therefore, team members must improve their teamwork competencies for more significant team development and effectiveness. This study aimed to analyze how a non-directive coaching intervention model for an entire team influences the individual team members’ teamwork competencies.

Action research was used in this study with a quasi-experimental design featuring control and experimental groups comprising final-year engineering students from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The sample included 168 students, with 132 in the control group and 36 in the experimental group. The experimental group underwent a non-directive team coaching intervention involving three sessions. Competencies were evaluated using the teamwork competency test (TWCT), administered at the course’s beginning and end to measure progress.

The results show that the individuals who participated in the team coaching significantly increased their competencies, particularly “conflict resolution” and “feedback.”

This study’s value contributes to identifying the positive impacts of non-directive team coaching interventions on individual teamwork competencies, fostering collaborative skills and supporting collective goals.