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Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Nastaran Hajiheydari and Mohammad Soltani Delgosha

Digital labor platforms (DLPs) are transforming the nature of the work for an increasing number of workers, especially through extensively employing automated algorithms for…

Abstract

Purpose

Digital labor platforms (DLPs) are transforming the nature of the work for an increasing number of workers, especially through extensively employing automated algorithms for performing managerial functions. In this novel working setting – characterized by algorithmic governance, and automatic matching, rewarding and punishing mechanisms – gig-workers play an essential role in providing on-demand services for final customers. Since gig-workers’ continued participation is crucial for sustainable service delivery in platform contexts, this study aims to identify and examine the antecedents of their working outcomes, including burnout and engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

We suggested a theoretical framework, grounded in the job demands-resources heuristic model to investigate how the interplay of job demands and resources, resulting from working in DLPs, explains gig-workers’ engagement and burnout. We further empirically tested the proposed model to understand how DLPs' working conditions, in particular their algorithmic management, impact gig-working outcomes.

Findings

Our findings indicate that job resources – algorithmic compensation, work autonomy and information sharing– have significant positive effects on gig-workers’ engagement. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that job insecurity, unsupportive algorithmic interaction (UAI) and algorithmic injustice significantly contribute to gig-workers’ burnout. Notably, we found that job resources substantially, but differently, moderate the relationship between job demands and gig-workers’ burnout.

Originality/value

This study contributes a theoretically accurate and empirically grounded understanding of two clusters of conditions – job demands and resources– as a result of algorithmic management practice in DLPs. We developed nuanced insights into how such conditions are evaluated by gig-workers and shape their engagement or burnout in DLP emerging work settings. We further uncovered that in gig-working context, resources do not similarly buffer against the negative effects of job demands.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2024

Adewale Allen Sokan-Adeaga, Godson R.E.E. Ana, Abel Olajide Olorunnisola, Micheal Ayodeji Sokan-Adeaga, Hridoy Roy, Md Sumon Reza and Md. Shahinoor Islam

This study aims to assess the effect of water variation on bioethanol production from cassava peels (CP) using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as the ethanologenic agent.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the effect of water variation on bioethanol production from cassava peels (CP) using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as the ethanologenic agent.

Design/methodology/approach

The milled CP was divided into three treatment groups in a small-scale flask experiment where each 20 g CP was subjected to two-stage hydrolysis. Different amount of water was added to the fermentation process of CP. The fermented samples were collected every 24 h for various analyses.

Findings

The results of the fermentation revealed that the highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency was obtained at 17.38 ± 0.30% and 0.139 ± 0.003 gL−1 h−1. The study affirmed that ethanol production was increased for the addition of water up to 35% for the CP hydrolysate process.

Practical implications

The finding of this study demonstrates that S. cerevisiae is the key player in industrial ethanol production among a variety of yeasts that produce ethanol through sugar fermentation. In order to design truly sustainable processes, it should be expanded to include a thorough analysis and the gradual scaling-up of this process to an industrial level.

Originality/value

This paper is an original research work dealing with bioethanol production from CP using S. cerevisiae microbe.

Highlights

  1. Hydrolysis of cassava peels using 13.1 M H2SO4 at 100 oC for 110 min gave high Glucose productivity

  2. Highest ethanol production was obtained at 72 h of fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

  3. Optimal bioethanol concentration and yield were obtained at a hydration level of 35% agitation

  4. Highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency were 17.3%, 0.139 g.L−1.h−1

Hydrolysis of cassava peels using 13.1 M H2SO4 at 100 oC for 110 min gave high Glucose productivity

Highest ethanol production was obtained at 72 h of fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Optimal bioethanol concentration and yield were obtained at a hydration level of 35% agitation

Highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency were 17.3%, 0.139 g.L−1.h−1

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Fu Jia, Ying Xu, Lujie Chen and Kiran Fernandes

Despite the increasing interest in the role of supply chain concentration (SCC) in improving performance, its influence on firms' sustainability performance remains unexplored, as…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the increasing interest in the role of supply chain concentration (SCC) in improving performance, its influence on firms' sustainability performance remains unexplored, as do the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Drawing on resource dependence theory, the authors investigate the relationship between SCC and manufacturing firms' sustainability performance and the moderating roles of operational slack and information transparency.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use secondary data from 3,581 manufacturing firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share stock markets from 2006 to 2020 to conduct an empirical analysis using panel data regression models.

Findings

Manufacturing firms' SCC is negatively related to sustainability performance until it reaches a certain point, where SCC positively affects sustainability performance, presenting a U-shaped relationship. In addition, operational slack represented by a quick ratio moderates the relationship between SCC and sustainability performance by flattening the curve. Operational slack represented by receivable turnover ratio moderates the relationship between SCC and sustainability performance by steepening the curve and shifting the turning point left. Information transparency strengthens the effect of SCC on the sustainability performance by steepening the curve.

Originality/value

This investigation provides a comprehensive view of the SCC– sustainability performance relationship.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2023

N.T. Khuong Truong, Susan J. Smith, Gavin Wood, William A.V. Clark, William Lisowski and Rachel Ong ViforJ

The purpose of this paper is to consider one test of a well-functioning housing system – its impact on wellbeing. Exploring one indicator of this, this study aims to track changes…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider one test of a well-functioning housing system – its impact on wellbeing. Exploring one indicator of this, this study aims to track changes in mental and general health across a mix of tenure transitions and financial transactions in three jurisdictions: Australia, the UK and the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

Using matched variables from three national panel surveys (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, British Household Panel Survey/Understanding Society and Panel Study of Income Dynamics) over 17 years (2000–2017) to capture the sweep of the most recent housing cycle, this study adopts a difference-in-difference random-effects model specification to estimate the mental and general health effects of tenure change and borrowing behaviours.

Findings

There is an enduring health premium associated with unmortgaged owner-occupation. Mortgage debt detracts from this, as does the prospect of dropping out of ownership and into renting. A previously observed post-exit recovery in mental health – a debt-relief effect – is not present in the longer run. In fact, in some circumstances, both mental and general health deficits are amplified, even among those who eventually regain homeownership. Though there are cross-country differences, the similarities across these financialised housing systems are more striking.

Practical implications

The well-being premium traditionally associated with owner occupation is under threat at the edges of the sector in all three jurisdictions. In this, there is cross-national convergence. There may therefore be scope to introduce policies to better support households at the edges of ownership that work across the board for debt-funded ownership-centred housing systems.

Originality/value

This paper extends the duration of a previous analysis of the impact of tenure transitions and financial transactions on well-being at the edges of ownership in the UK and Australia. The authors now track households over nearly two decades from the start of the millennium into a lengthy (post-global financial crisis) era of declining housing affordability. This study adds to the reach of the earlier study by adding a general health variable and a third jurisdiction, the USA.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 February 2024

Rachid Belhachemi

This paper aims to introduce a heteroskedastic hidden truncation normal (HTN) model that allows for conditional volatilities, skewness and kurtosis, which evolve over time and are…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a heteroskedastic hidden truncation normal (HTN) model that allows for conditional volatilities, skewness and kurtosis, which evolve over time and are linked to economic dynamics and have economic interpretations.

Design/methodology/approach

The model consists of the HTN distribution introduced by Arnold et al. (1993) coupled with the NGARCH type (Engle and Ng, 1993). The HTN distribution nests two well-known distributions: the skew-normal family (Azzalini, 1985) and the normal distributions. The HTN family of distributions depends on a hidden truncation and has four parameters having economic interpretations in terms of conditional volatilities, kurtosis and correlations between the observed variable and the hidden truncated variable.

Findings

The model parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood estimator. An empirical application to market data indicates the HTN-NGARCH model captures stylized facts manifested in financial market data, specifically volatility clustering, leverage effect, conditional skewness and kurtosis. The authors also compare the performance of the HTN-NGARCH model to the mixed normal (MN) heteroskedastic MN-NGARCH model.

Originality/value

The paper presents a structure dynamic, allowing us to explore the volatility spillover between the observed and the hidden truncated variable. The conditional volatilities and skewness have the ability at modeling persistence in volatilities and the leverage effects as well as conditional kurtosis of the S&P 500 index.

Details

Studies in Economics and Finance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1086-7376

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Sha Zhou, Yaqin Su, Muhammad Aamir Shahzad and Zhengchi Liu

The integration of social media and e-commerce has resulted in a rising phenomenon among individual content providers (ICPs), who used to offer free content, to provide consumers…

Abstract

Purpose

The integration of social media and e-commerce has resulted in a rising phenomenon among individual content providers (ICPs), who used to offer free content, to provide consumers with paid content, such as online courses, Q&As or consultations. Despite the prevalence of ICPs’ content monetization, empirical research has rarely studied its underlying mechanism. This paper examines how the characteristics of free content contributed by ICPs on social media platforms influence their paid content sales, focusing on the perspective of human brand.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical setting is an online knowledge exchange platform, where users are allowed to provide free content (e.g. answers) on the social media platform and launch paid content (e.g. lectures) on the e-commerce platform. A machine learning technique is employed to construct measures for the characteristics of free content, and fixed-effects estimation is presented to confirm which factors have a significant influence on the sales of paid content.

Findings

The empirical results show that the quality, diversity and expertness of free content have a significant positive impact on the sales of the ICP-paid content, with the brand popularity of ICP playing a mediating role.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to demystify the relationship between content contribution and ICPs’ content monetization from the perspective of human brand. The findings validate the effectiveness of the “Selling by Contribution” strategy and provide valuable insights for ICPs and social media platforms.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2023

Bhawesh Sah and Rohit Titiyal

Companies are adopting innovative methods for responsiveness and efficiency in the public transport sector. The implementation of air-taxi services (ATS) in the transport sector…

Abstract

Purpose

Companies are adopting innovative methods for responsiveness and efficiency in the public transport sector. The implementation of air-taxi services (ATS) in the transport sector is a move in this direction. Air taxis have a two-pronged advantage as they can reduce travel times by avoiding traffic congestion and have the potential to reduce carbon footprint compared to traditional modes of public transportation. Many companies worldwide are developing and testing ATS for practical applications. However, many factors may play a significant role in adopting ATS in the transport sector. This paper attempts to unearth such critical success factors (CSFs) and establish the interrelationships between these factors.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifteen CSFs were identified by systematically reviewing the literature and taking experts' input. An integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique, Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory-Analytic Network Process (DEMATEL-ANP [DANP]) was used to envisage the causal relationships between the identified CSF.

Findings

The results reveal that Govt Regulations (GOR), Skilled Workforce (SKF) and Conductive Research Environment (CRE) are the most influential factors that impact the adoption of ATS in the transport sector.

Practical implications

The research implications of these findings will help practitioners and policymakers effectively implement ATS in the public transportation sector.

Originality/value

This is the first kind of study that identifies and explores the different CSFs for ATS implementation in public transportation. The CSFs are evaluated with the help of a framework built with inputs from logistics experts. The study recognizes the CSFs for ATS implementation and provides a foundation for future research and smooth adoption of ATS.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2023

Ritu Arora, Anand Chauhan, Anubhav Pratap Singh and Renu Sharma

Good management strives to align and corporate processes for more attention being paid to supply chain management. Firms realize that greater co-operation and improved…

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Abstract

Purpose

Good management strives to align and corporate processes for more attention being paid to supply chain management. Firms realize that greater co-operation and improved coordination can help to manage the entire supply chain more efficiently. The imperfect quality item is one of the most important issues that affect the expected profit of green supply chain. The imprecise cost with screening process of poor quality items posed in supply chain is the subject of this study.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study explores production model for imperfect items having uncertain cost parameters with three-layer supply chain encompassing supplier, manufacturer and retailer. The model is considering the impact of business tactics such as order size, production rate, production cost and appropriate times in various sectors on collaborative marketing systems. Due to imprecise cost parameters, the pentagonal fuzzy numbers are set to fuzzify the total cost and defuzzifition by using graded mean integration.

Findings

This study offers an explicit condition in uncertain environment to manage the imperfect quality item to increase the potential profit of the supply chain. The influence of changes in parameter values on the optimal inventory policy under fuzziness is provided managerial insights.

Originality/value

This model makes a significant contribution to fuzzy inference. The results of the study provide a trading strategy for the industry to avoid losses. The prescribed study can be suitable for the industries like sculpture, jewelry, pottery, etc.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Oğuz Kara, Levent Altinay, Mehmet Bağış, Mehmet Nurullah Kurutkan and Sanaz Vatankhah

Entrepreneurial activity is a phenomenon that increases the economic growth of countries and improves their social welfare. The economic development levels of countries have…

Abstract

Purpose

Entrepreneurial activity is a phenomenon that increases the economic growth of countries and improves their social welfare. The economic development levels of countries have significant effects on these entrepreneurial activities. This research examines which institutional and macroeconomic variables explain early-stage entrepreneurship activities in developed and developing economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted panel data analysis on the data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) surveys covering the years 2009–2018.

Findings

First, the authors' results reveal that cognitive, normative and regulatory institutions and macroeconomic factors affect early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developed and developing countries differently. Second, the authors' findings indicate that cognitive, normative and regulatory institutions affect early-stage entrepreneurship more positively in developed than developing countries. Finally, the authors' results report that macroeconomic factors are more effective in early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developing countries than in developed countries.

Originality/value

This study provides a better understanding of the components that help explain the differences in entrepreneurship between developed and developing countries regarding institutions and macroeconomic factors. In this way, it contributes to developing entrepreneurship literature with the theoretical achievements of combining institutional theory and macroeconomic indicators with entrepreneurship literature.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Shi Yin, Zengying Gao and Tahir Mahmood

The aim of this study is to (1) construct a standard framework for assessing the capability of bioenergy enterprises' digital green innovation partners; (2) quantify the choice of…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to (1) construct a standard framework for assessing the capability of bioenergy enterprises' digital green innovation partners; (2) quantify the choice of partners for digital green innovation by bioenergy enterprises; (3) propose based on a dual combination empowerment niche digital green innovation field model.

Design/methodology/approach

Fuzzy set theory is combined into field theory to investigate resource complementarity. The successful application of the model to a real case illustrates how the model can be used to address the problem of digital green innovation partner selection. Finally, the standard framework and digital green innovation field model can be applied to the practical partner selection of bioenergy enterprises.

Findings

Digital green innovation technology of superposition of complementarity, mutual trust and resources makes the digital green innovation knowledge from partners to biofuels in the enterprise. The index rating system included eight target layers: digital technology innovation level, bioenergy technology innovation level, bioenergy green level, aggregated digital green innovation resource level, bioenergy technology market development ability, co-operation mutual trust and cooperation aggregation degree.

Originality/value

This study helps to (1) construct the evaluation standard framework of digital green innovation capability based on the dual combination empowerment theory; (2) develop a new digital green innovation domain model for bioenergy enterprises to select digital green innovation partners; (3) assist bioenergy enterprises in implementing digital green innovation practices.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

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