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1 – 10 of over 5000Lei Xu, K. Praveen Parboteeah and Hanqing Fang
The authors enrich and extend the existing institutional anomie theory (IAT) in the hope of sharpening the understanding of the joint effects of selected cultural values and…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors enrich and extend the existing institutional anomie theory (IAT) in the hope of sharpening the understanding of the joint effects of selected cultural values and social institutional changes on women's pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts. The authors theorize that women are culturally discouraged to pursue pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts or wealth accumulation in a specific culture. This discouragement creates an anomic strain that motivates women to deviate from cultural prescriptions by engaging in pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts at a faster speed. Building on this premise, the authors hypothesize that changes in social institutions facilitate the means of achievement for women due to the potential opportunities inherent in such institutional changes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a randomly selected sample of 1,431 registered active individual users with a minimum of 10,000 followers on a leading entertainment live-streaming platform in the People's Republic of China, the authors examined a unique mix of cultural and institutional changes and their effects on the speed of women's engagement in live-streaming platform activity.
Findings
The authors find support for the impact of the interaction between changes in social institution conditions and cultural values. Unexpectedly, the authors also find a negative impact of cultural values on women's speed of engaging in pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts.
Originality/value
The authors add institutional change to the IAT framework and provide a novel account for the variation in the pre-entrant entrepreneurial attempts by women on the platform.
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Teemu Rantanen and Timo Toikko
With digitisation, a new kind of inequality has emerged in society between people and groups of people. A lack of digital inclusion creates challenges for the economic and social…
Abstract
Purpose
With digitisation, a new kind of inequality has emerged in society between people and groups of people. A lack of digital inclusion creates challenges for the economic and social development of society and citizen participation. This study analyses how the country-level cultural factors defined by Hofstede are associated with citizens' digital skills and internet usage and how they moderate the effects of age, gender, educational level and income level.
Design/methodology/approach
This comparative cross-sectional study examines digital inclusion in 22 European countries. Data from the European Social Survey (N = 37,602) are analysed using a two-level regression analysis.
Findings
The study found significant effects of demographic and socio-economic factors and country-level indulgence on digital skills and internet usage. In addition, the study shows that a high value on the indulgence index moderates the negative effect of age.
Originality/value
The digital divide has been studied widely with regard to individual-level influencing factors and international comparisons. The significance of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in terms of digitisation and digital divides has also been confirmed in previous studies. However, there is a lack of analysis combining the effects of country-level culture and individual-level demographic and socio-economic factors on citizens' digital skills and internet usage. Generally, the research emphasises the significance of national culture in digital inclusion and especially in supporting the digital inclusion of older adults.
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Sulakshana De Alwis, Patrik Hernwall and Arosha S. Adikaram
This study aims to explore how and why employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions differently and the role of sociocultural factors in this process using sociomaterial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how and why employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions differently and the role of sociocultural factors in this process using sociomaterial analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from 34 Sri Lankan knowledge workers using a series of workshop-based activities. The concept of sociomateriality is employed to understand how sociocultural elements are entangled with technology in work-life boundary experiences.
Findings
The findings of the thematic analyses suggest how culture is intertwined in the way employees perceive technology-mediated interruptions and how they manage information communication technologies (ICTs) to balance their work and nonwork demands. Participants have been unable to avoid technology-mediated boundary interruptions from work, as organisations have created norms to keep employees connected to organisations using information communication technologies. Traditional gender roles are specifically found to be entangled in employees' boundary management practices, disadvantaging women more.
Practical implications
The findings highlight how national culture and gender norms create challenging work-life experiences for female employees than males. This could create a disadvantageous position for female employees in their career progression. It is crucial to consider factors such as boundary preferences and family concerns when deciding on family-friendly work policies. Also, organisations have to consider the development of explicit guidelines on after-hours communication expectations.
Originality/value
Using the lens of sociomateriality, researchers can understand the contextual entanglement of ICTs with national culture and gender norms in creating different work-life boundary experiences. It seems ICTs are creating a disadvantage for female employees when managing work–nonwork boundaries, especially in power distant and collectivist cultures where traditional gender norms are highly valued and largely upheld. This study also contributes to the current discourse on work-life boundaries by providing insights from non-western perspectives.
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Sasha Boucher, Margaret Cullen and André Paul Calitz
Contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystem models and frameworks advocate that culture is a criterion for entrepreneurial intention and central to entrepreneurship discourse. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystem models and frameworks advocate that culture is a criterion for entrepreneurial intention and central to entrepreneurship discourse. However, there is limited research from resource-constrained economies, such as sub-Saharan Africa and at a sub-national level. Responding to calls for bottom-up perspectives hinged on local context and heterogeneous nature, this paper aims to provide an in-depth understanding from multiple perspectives about the effect that culture and entrepreneurial intention have on the entrepreneurship process and performance in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method research design followed a sequential independent process consisting of two phases. Phase 1 included the dissemination of questionnaires to economically active participants, and 300 responses were statistically analysed. In Phase 2, 15 semi-structured interviews with influential economic development agents were conducted.
Findings
The results indicated that social legitimacy towards entrepreneurship existed and self-employment was viewed positively. However, self-employment endeavours were mainly necessity driven, and the systemic low levels of innovation, poor business competitiveness and the inability to scale were highlighted. The findings indicated that individuals venturing into business had a culture of being dependant on the government, lacking a risk appetite, fearing failure, with disparate groups suffering from a poor legacy of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
Despite research done on the role of culture and entrepreneurial intention on entrepreneurial ecosystems, there are few case studies showing their influence at a sub-national level. This study responds to calls for studies on a sub-national level by exploring the influence that culture and entrepreneurial intention have on entrepreneurship in a resource-constrained metropole.
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Kaja Primc, Marko Ogorevc, Renata Slabe-Erker, Tjaša Bartolj and Nika Murovec
The diversity of perspectives means that one can find many factors and models of proenvironmental behavior. However, they typically suffer from limitations and varying degrees of…
Abstract
Purpose
The diversity of perspectives means that one can find many factors and models of proenvironmental behavior. However, they typically suffer from limitations and varying degrees of validity in specific contexts, suggesting that today the prime goal should be to learn and improve the models which have been already developed. In this study, the authors build on the model for predicting proenvironmental behavior developed by Oreg and Katz-Gerro (2006), namely one of the most comprehensive cross-national proenvironmental behavior models and one of the few not to be limited to either a local or single-country context or specific proenvironmental behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
By using the statistical matching technique, the authors merged data from two existing databases without common identifiers – the International Social Survey Program (environmental module) and the European Social Survey (Round 5). The resulting multinational data concerning 9,710 observations enabled a replication with extensions of Oreg and Katz-Gerro's (2006) proenvironmental behavior model that incorporates newly added Schwartz's theory of human values. To achieve the study's main objective, that is, to present improvements to the original model of proenvironmental behavior, the authors used structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures to estimate four competing models in the R program.
Findings
This study implies that Schwartz's individually measured motivational types of values (benevolence [BE], universalism [UN], self-direction [SD]) are predictors of people's proenvironmental behavior, while his conceptualization of post-materialism yields a better model fit than Inglehart's country-level post-materialism scores. The results also corroborate previous findings that post-materialist values can stimulate proenvironmental behaviors through attitudes, perceived behavioral control and intentions. The present study reveals that proenvironmental attitudes did not change substantially in the 10-year period, even though the world's environmental and sustainability challenges have largely increased. Surprisingly, the mean value of several of the perceived threat variables even decreased.
Originality/value
The authors externally validate one of the most comprehensive proenvironmental behavior models by reproducing it using new multinational large-sample data with nearly 10,000 observations collected 10 years later. The most significant addition to the original model introduced in the current study is the inclusion of Schwartz's motivational types of values, which are measured at the individual level, namely BE, UN and SD. The authors also extend the model by adding proenvironmental behavior measures and group the construct into three latent variables: saving natural resources, green purchasing and environmental activism.
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Alex Lundqvist, Eva Liljeblom, Anders Löflund and Benjamin Maury
The cultural and legal differences between foreign acquirers and African target firms can be substantial. There is also a large variation in cultures and legal systems within…
Abstract
Purpose
The cultural and legal differences between foreign acquirers and African target firms can be substantial. There is also a large variation in cultures and legal systems within Africa. However, there is limited research on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance by foreign firms in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by exploring the “spillover by law” hypothesis (Martynova and Renneboog, 2008) that focuses on the influence of the external environment on the governance and performance of foreign M&As in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The data set covers 415 M&A transactions by foreign firms in Africa during the period of 1999–2016. Dynamic data covering the country’s legal, cultural and political environment are collected from the World Bank, the Heritage Foundation and Transparency International.
Findings
The authors find that the legal environment significantly affects the returns of bidders on African firms. For complete acquisitions, bidder returns are significantly higher when the bidder’s country has higher shareholder protection and higher creditor protection compared with the target firm’s country. The results show that the effects are significant when there is a full control change (including a change in the target firm’s nationality) but not in the case of partial control transfers. The results are consistent with the “spillover by law” hypothesis.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature on cross-border M&As by separately studying the valuation effects of full, majority and minority changes in control; by being the first study of the legal spillover effects in Africa; and by being the most extensive study of the legal determinants of the valuations of non-African acquirers of African firms.
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Sustainability is increasingly becoming an essential aspect of technological innovations. In addition, the diffusion of sustainable new technology-based products appears to be…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability is increasingly becoming an essential aspect of technological innovations. In addition, the diffusion of sustainable new technology-based products appears to be uneven across the globe. The authors examine the effect of three country-level Hofstede measures of culture and two national-level innovation characteristics on the diffusion of Sustainable New Technology-based Products (SNTP).
Design/methodology/approach
Regression and Necessary Conditions Analysis were used to analyze a panel dataset of electric and hybrid vehicles sales from 2008 to 2017 across 89 countries.
Findings
Results suggest Long-Term Orientation (LTO) was correlated with SNTP diffusion, Indulgence (IVR) was partially correlated with SNTP diffusion and was also a necessary condition. Surprisingly, Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) was not correlated with SNTP diffusion. In addition, a national proclivity for developing innovations and a history of utilizing prior generic innovations were both correlated and necessary for SNTP diffusion.
Originality/value
This paper measures the impact of several macro-level variables (culture and other innovation related characteristics of countries) on SNTP diffusion. In addition to regression analyses to measure the average effect size, the authors conduct Necessary Conditions Analysis, which assesses the necessity of a variable for the outcome. These insights may help multinational companies better strategize entry decisions for international markets and aid governments in formulating more effective policies by recognizing and accommodating the influences of national culture and innovation attitudes.
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To show that establishing an anti-corruption agency (ACA), by itself, is not likely to be a successful anti-corruption strategy. Instead, a solid base of social trust…
Abstract
Purpose
To show that establishing an anti-corruption agency (ACA), by itself, is not likely to be a successful anti-corruption strategy. Instead, a solid base of social trust, participation, and support is just as essential as creating an ACA with significant powers and resources.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a historical review of the origins and development of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, and an assessment of its three-pronged approach strategy at both strategic and tactical levels.
Findings
An ACA requires broad and deep social support and participation if it is to succeed. That the ICAC remains nearly unique in developing such a base of support provides important lessons for those countries with ineffective ACAs.
Originality/value
A reassessment of the ICAC after a half-century shows that the Hong Kong case, despite its familiarity, has much to teach us if we understand it in its broadest implications.
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The purpose of this study is to provide the conditions for governance effectiveness and explain why the same rules often result in not the same norms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide the conditions for governance effectiveness and explain why the same rules often result in not the same norms.
Design/methodology/approach
The author proposes a “corporate governance culture” concept explaining the differences within corporate governance institutions and making it possible to measure their effectiveness. Based on a literature review that included 186 research studies published in the corporate governance field, the author found that most (160) concern structural numerical variables. Only 26 refer to behavioural and cultural issues, and they support the idea of an interdisciplinary approach to governance problems.
Findings
A significant contribution of this paper is that it proposes an integrative framework that operationalises psychological, sociological and philosophical issues that influence corporate governance mechanisms. The proposed concept can reanimate the debate about the need for tight governance regulations or leaving room for a loose governance regime.
Originality/value
The idea of “corporate governance culture” explains the divergences identified in studies on corporate governance mechanisms, pointing out behavioural and cultural issues as crucial aspects of governance bodies.
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Salem Al-Harthi, Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov, Said Al-Riyami and Misida Al-Jahwari
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness in the oil and gas sector of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a conceptual evaluation of literature.
Findings
The extant body of research on both entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness is based on quantitative studies without previous systematic, exhaustive and comprehensive grounded theory-based theorizing processes rooted in qualitative approaches. This accounts for inconsistencies and controversies of findings reported in the field.
Practical implications
The grounded theory-based approach advocated by this paper is likely to generate a more precise estimation of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, competitive aggressiveness and firm performance. Consequently, an accurate understanding of the interplay between these factors can empower managers to make finely-tuned strategic decisions, achieve sustainable competitive advantage and optimally adapt to dynamic and unforeseen environments.
Originality/value
The paper reports on important limitations of the existing literature indicating that current findings may be an artifact of studying a small number of industries.
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