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1 – 10 of 12Eddy Balemba Kanyurhi, Deogratias Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa, Bonheur Murhula Lusheke, Patrick Murhula Cubaka, Paul Kadundu Karhamikire and Célestin Bucekuderhwa Bashige
The study has two objectives: (1) expand our knowledge of the relationship between unethical behaviour and both trust and satisfaction and (2) demonstrate that unethical behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
The study has two objectives: (1) expand our knowledge of the relationship between unethical behaviour and both trust and satisfaction and (2) demonstrate that unethical behaviour research should be examined multi-dimensionally.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by resorting to a mixed methods approach. First, individual interviews were performed with 31 bank consumers from six main commercial banks in Bukavu city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interview notes were submitted for content analysis to identify items and components that underpin the unethical practices construct. Second, a quantitative survey was conducted with 410 consumers from the same six banks. An aggregated-disaggregated structural equations modelling approach was used to test the impact of unethical practices on relationship outcomes through two studies. Study 1 tested a model that links unethical behaviour as a one-dimensional construct to trust and satisfaction. Study 2 tested a model that directly connects the four specific unethical behaviour components to both trust and satisfaction.
Findings
Results from study 1 reveal that perceived unethical behaviour negatively influences consumer trust. Results also confirm that trust positively influences customer satisfaction. Results from study 2 confirm that unresponsive, disrespect and lying behaviours negatively influence both trust and satisfaction. Banks which are involving in those specific unethical behaviours can neither satisfy their consumers, nor maintain a sustainable and profitable relationship with them. Therefore, unethical behaviours harm the relationships outcomes in the banking sector.
Research limitations/implications
The perceived unethical behaviour scale derives from a single data set and its reliability and validity need to be improved. Relationships between constructs are tested in a more direct way and ignore moderating variables. Perceived unethical behaviour is connected to relationship outcome variables while its impact on firms’ metrics have been ignored.
Practical implications
Banks have to understand customers’ perception of unethical behaviours and find a way to overcome them. Banks should recruit, motivate and retain employees who demonstrate an ethical inclination in the service encounter and create structures and mechanisms in order to monitor and manage unethical practices.
Social implications
Banks employees' unethical behaviour and practices not only damage the trust and reputation of banks but also can lead to frustration on the part of customers and damage their relationship with the institution. Our paper is a warning of this danger and might improve the social interactions between organisations (in general) and customers.
Originality/value
Unethical behaviour is measured with a four-component scale in contrast to previous studies that have used bi-dimensional or one-dimensional scales. The study tests a disaggregated model that links four components of perceived unethical behaviour to relationship outcome variables. Perceived unethical behaviours are analysed from the customers’ perspective by resorting to mixed methods strategy.
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Clare D'Souza, Vanessa Apaolaza Ibanez and Patrick Hartmann
There are calls for irradiated food labelling due to a significant need for food safety and extensive procedures to safeguard consumer health. Additionally, there is a strong push…
Abstract
Purpose
There are calls for irradiated food labelling due to a significant need for food safety and extensive procedures to safeguard consumer health. Additionally, there is a strong push from producers for mandatory Country of Origin (COO) labelling. The study examines how the COO and Radura labels influence consumer behaviour and shows the interplay between these influences. Using Attitude-Behavior-Context theory, a conceptual model is proposed and tested to evaluate these factors. The use of multiple labels allows for more choices. How the information presented on labels corresponds to consumers' pre-purchase information search is tested on regular label users.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Generalised Linear Modelling and Cluster Analysis were used to analyse the data on a sample of 322 Australian respondents.
Findings
The study revealed that COO labelling had a significant positive relationship with attitudes but a negative relationship with WTP, acting as a suppressed mediator between attitudes and WTP. Interestingly, while knowledge was not found significant, label confidence emerged as a significant factor. Furthermore, the research suggests that regular users may prioritize COO labels over Radura labels.
Originality/value
This research contributes novelty by being the first to address the interplay between COO and irradiated labels, complementing the growing body of literature on irradiation labelling. It also offers valuable insights for retail practitioners, providing an understanding that can facilitate the delivery of high-value multiple labels at the point of purchase.
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Carol Galvin, Aisling Martin, Paige Milburn and Patrick John Kennedy
Factors that may influence risk and/or vulnerability to young people’s involvement in terrorism are currently unclear. Understanding the factors that contribute to a young…
Abstract
Purpose
Factors that may influence risk and/or vulnerability to young people’s involvement in terrorism are currently unclear. Understanding the factors that contribute to a young person’s risk profile is a high priority for Youth Justice Services to enable the development of targeted interventions and subsequent risk reduction. The purpose of this study is to systematically identify and critically review studies relating to young peoples’ involvement in terrorism to understand potential risk and/or vulnerability factors and the implications for intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature was evaluated using the systematic review method. Twelve papers were selected for the systematic review according to the inclusion criteria.
Findings
Twelve factors emerged that indicated relevance to terrorism by young people and were combined into five overarching themes: contextual, social, psychological factors, trauma and use of time.
Originality/value
This systematic review is one of the first of its kind relating to terrorism by young people. The reported findings will be valuable to practitioners seeking to understand the risk and vulnerability factors related to terrorism by young people and the implications for intervention. Directions for future research are explored.
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The purpose of this Real Impact Research Article is to empirically explore one of the most controversial and elusive concepts in knowledge management research – practical wisdom…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this Real Impact Research Article is to empirically explore one of the most controversial and elusive concepts in knowledge management research – practical wisdom. It develops a 10-dimensional practical wisdom construct and tests it within the nomological network of counterproductive and productive knowledge behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey instrument was created based on the extant literature. A model was developed and tested by means of Partial Least Squares with data obtained from 200 experienced employees recruited from CloudResearch Connect crowdsourcing platform.
Findings
Practical wisdom is a multidimensional construct that may be operationalized and measured like other well-established knowledge management concepts. Practical wisdom guides employee counterproductive and productive knowledge behavior: it suppresses knowledge sabotage and knowledge hiding (whether general, evasive, playing dumb, rationalized or bullying) and promotes knowledge sharing. While all proposed dimensions contribute to employee practical wisdom, particularly salient are subject matter expertise, moral purpose in decision-making, self-reflection in the workplace and external reflection in the workplace. Unexpectedly, practical wisdom facilitates knowledge hoarding instead of reducing it.
Practical implications
Managers should realize that possessing practical wisdom is not limited to a group of select, high-level executives. Organizations may administer the practical wisdom questionnaire presented in this study to their workers to identify those who score the lowest, and invest in employee training programs that focus on the development of those attributes pertaining to the practical wisdom dimensions.
Originality/value
The concept of practical wisdom is a controversial topic that has both detractors and supporters. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first large-scale empirical study of practical wisdom in the knowledge management domain.
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Patrick Kraus, Elias Fißler and Dennis Schlegel
In recent years, the robotic process automation (RPA) technology has increasingly been used to automate business processes. While a lot of research has been published on the…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the robotic process automation (RPA) technology has increasingly been used to automate business processes. While a lot of research has been published on the potential and benefits of the technology, only a few studies have conducted research on challenges related to RPA adoption. Hence, this study aims to identify and discuss challenges related to RPA implementation projects.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an inductive methodology, interviews have been conducted with consultants who were involved in multiple RPA implementation projects. Hence, their extensive experience and views contribute to a detailed and in-depth understanding of the phenomena under research.
Findings
The results suggest that there are various process-related, technical, resource-related, psychological and coordinative challenges that must be considered when conducting an RPA implementation project.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to knowledge by presenting a new typology of challenges, as well as providing an in-depth discussion of the individual challenges that organizations face.
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Seth Ketron, Kelly Naletelich and Atefeh Yazdanparast
The purpose of this paper is to (1) characterize representational and nonrepresentational images; (2) review the literature on representational and nonrepresentational images; (3…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to (1) characterize representational and nonrepresentational images; (2) review the literature on representational and nonrepresentational images; (3) introduce the theory of consumption values (TCV) framework vis-à-vis representational and nonrepresentational images; and (4) generate propositions and questions for future research based on that intersection.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual/literature review with propositions and future research directions.
Findings
The authors offer nine propositions and several associated example research questions to explore and document the important ways in which representational and nonrepresentational images can affect the five dimensions of value as outlined in the TCV.
Research limitations/implications
It is the hope that this work serves as a theoretical starting point – surely, there are other theories and frameworks beyond the TCV that may share ties with types of images, which scholars should be encouraged to explore, but if the authors had attempted to document every possible theory, the result would be a limitless document. As such, the authors have honed the efforts on a broad-reaching framework, the TCV, in the attempt to balance theoretical insights with parsimony. Through exploration of these and other avenues, the authors hope that scholars and practitioners alike will benefit from elucidation of theories and effects around representational and nonrepresentational images.
Practical implications
Several practical implications flow from the dimensions and propositions within this work.
Originality/value
Representational and nonrepresentational images have featured prominently throughout visual content and communications for centuries, yet the current body of literature remains scant and underdeveloped in its relationship to marketing. The present work addresses this gap by using the TCV as an overarching framework to generate propositions and future research questions.
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Yichen Zhao, Shoujiang Zhou and Qi Kang
People frequently experience a conflict between immediate pleasure and long-term health when consuming healthy food. This study investigates how anthropomorphizing healthy food…
Abstract
Purpose
People frequently experience a conflict between immediate pleasure and long-term health when consuming healthy food. This study investigates how anthropomorphizing healthy food influences consumers’ sense of pleasure and their subsequent food preferences.
Design/methodology/approach
Using different samples and food items, the authors conducted five online or laboratory studies to provide empirical support for the research hypothesis, rule out potential alternative explanations, and demonstrate boundary conditions.
Findings
By conducting five empirical studies involving self-reported and actual eating preferences, this study found that anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for and actual intake of healthy food. Such an anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism. However, this positive effect is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings. Additionally, the effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on healthy consumption, anthropomorphism, and mood, revealing whether and how food anthropomorphism affects consumers. For marketers in the field of healthy food and relevant policymakers, anthropomorphic means can be employed, such as giving products human names, to enhance consumer preference for them. Moreover, anthropomorphizing can help alleviate consumers’ concerns about the relative lack of pleasurable taste in healthy foods and compensate for the lack of hedonic value that consumers may feel, thereby enhancing consumer welfare.
Highlights
Anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for healthy food and actual intake of it.
The anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism, through which affective feelings offer evaluative and decisional informativeness for judgments and decision-making.
The positive effect of anthropomorphism is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings.
The anthropomorphism effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.
Anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for healthy food and actual intake of it.
The anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism, through which affective feelings offer evaluative and decisional informativeness for judgments and decision-making.
The positive effect of anthropomorphism is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings.
The anthropomorphism effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.
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Nadirah Mat Pozian, Yvette D. Miller and Jenni Mays
Evidence for the availability and utilisation of family-friendly work conditions (FFWCs) in Malaysia has not been comprehensively reviewed. Whether persistent inequities are due…
Abstract
Purpose
Evidence for the availability and utilisation of family-friendly work conditions (FFWCs) in Malaysia has not been comprehensively reviewed. Whether persistent inequities are due to poor employer provision of work conditions or low employee uptake remains unknown. This scoping review to assess the scope of available evidence for availability and utilisation of specific FFWCs among women in Malaysia, and synthesise reported findings.
Design/methodology/approach
This scoping review used Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and twenty-two articles were reviewed.
Findings
Flexible work hours, telecommuting/work from home, staggered work hours, childcare centres proximal to workplaces, and childcare subsidies were reported as most commonly available work conditions. Available leave varied across organisations and sectors in provision of payment and duration. Flexible work hours, leave, and childcare centres proximal to workplaces were the conditions most used by employees. However, the validity of observed availability and utilisation of work conditions in Malaysia is questionable, due to inconsistencies in the specificity and range of work conditions assessed and heterogeneity of samples.
Practical implications
National monitoring of the accessibility and uptake of FFWCs is required to guide investment decisions about family-friendly policy initiatives to effectively advance gender equity in the Malaysian labour force.
Originality/value
This scoping review provides the first comprehensive synthesis and summary of the availability and utilisation of FFWCs in Malaysia.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0103
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Aikaterini Manthiou, Van Ha Luong, Kafia Ayadi and Phil Klaus
The experience of leaving the real world and entering a virtual service environment makes many individuals happy. This study heeds the call by multiple researchers to…
Abstract
Purpose
The experience of leaving the real world and entering a virtual service environment makes many individuals happy. This study heeds the call by multiple researchers to conceptualize, interpret and illustrate the impact of the perceived service experience in the metaverse in a holistic way. In particular, this study aims to understand how the consumption of experiences is perceived in a metaversal space.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze mega virtual live events with famous artists broadcast in virtual worlds. The authors take a big data approach and include two studies to gain insight into the online public audience’s perceptions and experiences in the metaverse. In the first study, the authors analyze text from YouTube with Leximancer. In the second study, the authors go one step further to refine the conceptual model from Study 1. The authors scrutinize additional Facebook comments using seeded Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA).
Findings
The findings reveal that the meta service experience (MEX) encompasses four dimensions: immersion, metascape, immediacy and hedonism.
Originality/value
This research provides important guidance not only for consumer behavior scholars but also for service marketers and event planners. The study proposes research opportunities to advance service experience research in the metaverse.
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