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1 – 10 of 10Higher education institutions play a crucial role in pursuing a more sustainable future. Research in sustainable development education (SDE) has grown dramatically in the last two…
Abstract
Higher education institutions play a crucial role in pursuing a more sustainable future. Research in sustainable development education (SDE) has grown dramatically in the last two decades because of its importance and global influence. In many universities, sustainability training is restricted to courses, is segregated from the study, and is not connected with sustainable campus operations. Thus, sustainability education is often addressed separately. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method, and the keywords were adapted and extracted from the United Nations' definition of sustainability and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 framework. This study examined whether sustainability elements are integrated into Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University's curricula (i.e. courses and programs). We were particularly interested in learning how various academic fields integrate sustainability into their curricula. The study results indicated no elective or mandatory courses were designed for sustainable education in the university plan and showed a low degree of integration within the university curricula. For universities, incorporating SDE capabilities within the curriculum has practical ramifications. The curriculum review found that the courses focused chiefly on environmental concerns but enhanced the depth of coverage. Some approaches assist university leaders in devising curricula reforms to promote sustainability learning, providing students with opportunities to reflect on the topic, and bridging the gap between the activities being done at a university to foster sustainability and student perception of what needs to be achieved.
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Muhammad Mustafa Raziq, Felipe Mendes Borini, Omer Farooq Malik, Mansoor Ahmad and Mehwish Shabaz
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of goal clarity in the relationship between leadership styles and project success. The paper draws on full-range…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of goal clarity in the relationship between leadership styles and project success. The paper draws on full-range leadership theory, and contextualizes leadership styles such as transformational leadership style, and transactional leadership style (active management by exception, and contingent reward) to temporary project environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected (in year 2017) from 248 individuals working in ten large project-based organizations from different sectors, each having multiple units in Pakistan. Respondents comprise functional managers and individuals (who have lead or worked on projects), as well as dedicated project managers.
Findings
Goal clarity partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership style and project success. However, in case of the transactional leadership style, there is no mediation as transactional leadership style is not associated with goal clarity. Furthermore, contingent reward is positively associated to project success, while active management by exception is negatively associated to project success.
Originality/value
Research suggests that the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between leadership styles (transactional and transformational) and project success are less clear and need to be further explored. This study contributes to literature by answering such calls, and examines possible underlying mechanisms (i.e. goal clarity) in the relationship between leadership styles and project success.
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Ahmet Aytekin, Ömer Faruk Görçün, Fatih Ecer, Dragan Pamucar and Çağlar Karamaşa
The present study aims to provide a practical and robust assessment technique for assessing countries' investability in global supply chains to practitioners. Thus, the proposed…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to provide a practical and robust assessment technique for assessing countries' investability in global supply chains to practitioners. Thus, the proposed approach can help decision-makers evaluate and select appropriate countries in the expansion process of the global supply chains and reduce risks concerning country (market) selection.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study proposes a novel decision-making approach, namely the REF-Sort technique. The proposed approach has many valuable contributions to the literature. First, it has an efficient basic algorithm and can be applied to solve highly complicated decision-making problems without requiring advanced mathematical knowledge. Besides, some characteristics differentiate REF-Sort apart from other techniques. REF-Sort employs the value or value range that reflects the most typical characteristic of the relevant class in assignment processes. The reference values in REF-Sort and center profiles are similar in this regard. On the other hand, class references can be defined as ranges in REF-Sort. Secondary values, called successors, can also be employed to assign a value to the appropriate class. REF-Sort can also determine the reference and successor values/ranges independently of the decision matrix. In addition, the proposed model is a maximally stable and consistent decision-making tool, as it is resistant to the rank reversal problem.
Findings
The current papers' findings indicate that countries have different features concerning investment. Hence, the current paper pointed out that only 22% of the 95 countries are investable, whereas 19% are risky. Thus, decision-makers should make detailed evaluations using robust, powerful, and practical decision-making tools to make more reasonable and logical decisions concerning country selection.
Originality/value
The current paper proposes a novel decision-making approach to evaluate. According to the authors' information, the proposed model has been applied to evaluate investable countries for the global supply chains for the first time.
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Pakistan's present war against extremists has many folds and sheds. The country's initial participation in the Afghan War in 1979 later gave birth to different extremist trends in…
Abstract
Pakistan's present war against extremists has many folds and sheds. The country's initial participation in the Afghan War in 1979 later gave birth to different extremist trends in the country. State patronage of the extremist Wahabi Islamists during the Afghan jihad opened another conflict in Pakistan, and things became more complicated. The combination of external and internal factors gave birth to the worst kind of conflict, which now has not only become dangerous for the country's own existence but also a major threat for global peace. The Afghan jihad initially started as a war against Soviet occupation and later became the hub of global jihad-war against infidels.
This chapter analyzes how external factors promoted internal contradictions in Pakistan due to which the country became not only an exporter of jihadis for the world but also the worst kind of sectarian conflicts, including. Shia–Sunni, Deobandi–Wahabi clashes, entered into in the past two decades. Such a strong link exists with Pakistan's official support to global jihad. Draft sectarian groups now head to head with their opponents have killed thousands of members of rival sectors, have strong support from external sympathizers, and have spread in the country. The well planned terrorist activities of these groups reflect the fact that support to these groups in the past is now leading to a severe crisis in Pakistan. The nexuses of these indigenous extremists like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with external terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan of Tahir Yuldasher Chechen Guerilla War has led to several bloody clashes in the country and outside.
Vitor Azzari, Emerson Wagner Mainardes and Aziz Xavier Beiruth
This study aims to develop and validate a scale for measuring accounting service quality (ASQ), which is named ACCOUNTQUAL.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop and validate a scale for measuring accounting service quality (ASQ), which is named ACCOUNTQUAL.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors initially investigated the service quality literature in the context of accounting. To develop the scale, the authors carried out three studies. First, the authors conducted 20 in-depth interviews to generate the ASQ items. Then, they undertook a survey with 174 accounting services clients to group these items into factors through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Finally, the authors carried out another survey with 330 clients to purify and validate the scale through a confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The authors were able to validate the ACCOUNTQUAL scale, which is composed of the following dimensions: efficiency, trust, technological innovation and accountant knowledge, the latter being composed of three aspects: consultative view, technical capacitation and knowledge about clients.
Originality/value
The authors concluded that ASQ is a multidimensional construct that covers the assessment of technical, tooling, relationship and qualification aspects of the accounting service. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that developed and validated a scale for measuring ASQ. If accounting service providers meets the elements presented in the scale, they will potentially deliver a high-quality service.
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Adnan Aldholay, Zaini Abdullah, Osama Isaac and Ahmed M. Mutahar
Online learning has evolved into a necessary means of learning because of its capability to enhance the education quality with minimum resources and infrastructure. Nevertheless…
Abstract
Purpose
Online learning has evolved into a necessary means of learning because of its capability to enhance the education quality with minimum resources and infrastructure. Nevertheless, while academics have studied the espousal and use of online learning in various settings, the effect of compatibility and transformational leadership (TL) still remains to be seen, with regards to the Yemeni context. The purpose of this paper is to forward the Delone and Mclean Information System (IS) success Model by integrating compatibility and TL constructs as precursors to user contentment and actual use for estimating performance of students.
Design/methodology/approach
The questionnaire technique was utilised for gathering primary data from 448 students in nine state-funded Yemeni universities. The six variables in the recommended framework were gauged utilising current scales. Data analysis was done by deploying structural equation modelling through SmartPLS 3.0.
Findings
The outcomes encompassed three key results: overall quality (data, system and service quality), compatibility and TL have a favourable effect on user satisfaction and actual use; actual use considerably estimates user satisfaction; and user satisfaction and actual use have a favourable effect on performance of students.
Research limitations/implications
Because the research populace comprised students from nine state-funded universities, it did not include administrative and academic staff. Furthermore, as the study was cross-sectional, it studied the variables at a single point of time. Attaining experience in utilising online learning would transform the convictions of students, and this cannot be traced through a cross-sectional scrutiny. Moreover, the research relies upon self-testified measures for ascertaining the recommended research model. The reason behind this is that obtaining objective information regarding performance was not likely because of the privacy concern.
Practical implications
Despite the fact that Yemen is a low-income emerging nation with inadequate resources (World Development Indicators, 2017), it can capitalise on online-based learning that provides the advantage of excellent education and that too with limited supplies (Dokhan and Akkoyunlu, 2016; Yang et al., 2016). Additionally, online learning can enhance administration and communication, empower learning anywhere and anytime, and endorse fairness of education.
Originality/value
This study supplements the existing studies on information systems by blending overall quality, compatibility, TL, actual use and client satisfaction for estimating the effect of online learning among students from nine state-funded Yemeni universities. Moreover, the recommended model’s predictive prowess has a higher capability to elucidate and estimate the performance effect as against those acquired from few of the previous studies.
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It is observed that bank transactions are at the top of the list as consumers' online transactions increase day by day. We assume that creating an emotion-rich experience will be…
Abstract
Purpose
It is observed that bank transactions are at the top of the list as consumers' online transactions increase day by day. We assume that creating an emotion-rich experience will be more effective in ensuring brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty, which affect the creation of consumer-based brand value. In this study, it is aimed to determine the relationship of the emotional brand experiences of internet banking users in the brands they use on creating consumer-based brand equity.
Design/methodology/approach
The data in the answers of 484 participants among the 504 people who filled out the questionnaire on social media with the snowball sampling method and were determined to have consistent answers and stating that they used internet banking, were analyzed by SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
Findings
The emotional experiences of internet banking users in Turkey with the internet brand they use have a relationship on all four dimensions (brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand associations and perceived quality) that make up consumer-based brand equity. In this study, the relationship was determined as brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand associations, respectively. The dimensions of the relationship of internet banking users emotional brand experience and consumer-based brand equity were supported.
Research limitations/implications
The research was carried out with internet banking users in Turkey. The results of this research can be compared with studies to be conducted in different countries and with different product brands. In addition, the level of contribution can be increased by investigating the emotional brand experience by comparing positive and negative emotions.
Practical implications
As online connection allowing instant access to unrecognized places and being able to reach brands from long distances instantly makes the emotional experience that can create emotional attachment between the brand and the customer, and brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand association and perceived quality, which are the dimensions of consumer-based brand equity affected by emotional experience, much more important. This importance is increasing day by day as the positive emotional experience to be created in banking services is directly related to access to money. Banking transactions are generally considered as cognitive transactions, and decisions are made and implemented within a cognitive context. However, the findings of this research suggest that decisions should be made and implemented that will enable consumers to gain experiences that can affect their emotions as well as their cognition.
Originality/value
Considering the importance of strategies and tactics that prioritize the creation of consumer-based brand equity in marketing theory, the importance of adding emotional brand experience to these strategies and tactics is supported by the results of this research as originality value. Although the effect of brand experience on consumer-based brand value has been widely researched in the literature, the fact that the effect of brand experience, especially emotional brand experience, on consumer-based brand experience in internet banking transactions has not been sufficiently researched and that this effect has been investigated specifically for Turkey, unlike the literature, increases the original contribution of the research.
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The relevance of digital technology and knowledge management (KM) has been increasing continuously owing to their importance in sustainability. However, research on which…
Abstract
Purpose
The relevance of digital technology and knowledge management (KM) has been increasing continuously owing to their importance in sustainability. However, research on which technology leads to collaboration in KM and how it affects sustainability is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to analyze knowledge collaboration management technologies for sustainable growth based on academic literature and technology patents.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzed current technology and academic trends in KM using BERTopic, an artificial intelligence natural language processing model, and proposed future promising candidate technologies and potential application areas in terms of collaboration and sustainability.
Findings
From the textual data of research papers and patents, this paper extracted 10 and 47 major topics, respectively. Moreover, five potential and feasible candidate patents along with their applicable fields were recommended.
Originality/value
The strength of this study is its analysis of the technologies affecting collaboration and sustainability in KM. This paper found that new digital technologies (i.e. artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data) impact organizations’ KM and have the potential for collaboration. Digital technologies have a positive impact on corporate smartness directly and sustainability and inclusion indirectly. This paper argued that organizations should understand and identify various promising technological factors and apply them to their KM from a collaboration perspective.
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