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This study aims to investigate how Australian Muslims make consumption-related decisions regarding the purchase of home loan products.

This exploratory research used in-depth semistructured interviews with community leaders from leading Muslim ethnic communities. Seventeen community leaders from the six largest Muslim community groups by country of birth and living in Melbourne and Sydney were selected for the interviews. The interview data was analyzed using NVivo 12.

The findings suggest that despite knowledge of and concern for Islamic tenets regarding the consumption of banking and financial products, including home loans, most Muslims viewed conventional home loans (CHL) as being permitted, essential or innocuous. Reasons for such views include the interpretation of Islamic tenets, limited awareness of available Islamic home loan offerings, convenience factors related to accessing CHL offerings, service quality levels, availability of technology-based services such as internet banking, and the influence of social groups and communities.

This research helps marketers understand the attitudes, subjective norms (SN) and behavioral factors related to the Muslim consumption of home loans.

The findings of this research can facilitate the development of financial products and marketing strategies that better appeal to Muslims. Such loan products can improve the uptake of home loans (and, in effect, homeowners) by Muslims, potentially improving social and financial inclusion.

This research helps marketers understand the attitudes, SNs and behavioral factors related to the Muslim consumption of home loans, which can facilitate the development of financial products and marketing strategies that better appeal to Muslims. Such loan products can improve the uptake of home loans (and, in effect, homeowners) by Muslims, potentially improving social and financial inclusion.

This qualitative study explores the drivers of Muslim consumers’ uptake of home loans in Australia. Drawing upon the theory of planned behavior and the literature, antecedents to attitude, SNs and perceived behavioral control that influence intention and behavior were investigated. It identifies factors influencing decision-making related to home loans by Australian Muslims, contributing to a theoretical framework to investigate Muslims’ consumption of financial products.

An emerging research stream focuses on the place-based ecosystems where artificial intelligence (AI) innovations emerge and develop. This literature builds on the contextual turn in management research and, specifically, work on entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, as a nascent research area, the literature on AI and entrepreneurial ecosystems is fragmented across academic and practitioner boundaries and unconnected disciplines because of disparate and ill-defined concepts. As a result, the literature is disorganized and its main insights are latent. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize research on AI ecosystems and identify the main insights.

We first consolidate research on the “where” of AI innovation through a scoping review. To address the fragmentation in the literature and understand how entrepreneurial ecosystems are associated with AI innovation, we then use content analysis to explore the literature.

We identify the main characteristics of the AI and ecosystems literature and the key dimensions of “AI entrepreneurial ecosystems”: the local actors and factors in geographic territories that are coordinated to support the creation and development of AI technologies. We clarify the relationships among AI technologies and ecosystem dimensions and uncover the latent themes and underlying structure of research on AI entrepreneurial ecosystems.

We increase conceptual precision by introducing and defining an umbrella concept—AI entrepreneurial ecosystem—and propose a research agenda to spur further insights. Our analysis contributes to research at the intersection of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship and creates actionable insights for practitioners influenced by the geographic agglomeration of AI innovation.

Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to increase mentalizing capacity. The purpose of this meta-ethnography was to synthesize the available qualitative literature on MBT to allow for a more thorough understanding of the lived experience of those who have undergone this therapy.

A systematic search of seven databases was carried out. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme was used to appraise the papers suitable for inclusion. The data were synthesized using a meta-ethnographic approach in which the second-order constructs from each paper were translated and reinterpreted creating a line of argument synthesis.

A total of 11 studies were included in the meta-ethnography. Three overarching themes were identified within the included papers which outlined that participant experience of MBT consisted of three different developmental stages. Navigating the therapeutic process describes the participant’s experience of the therapeutic process of MBT. The processes of change in MBT outlined participant reports of mechanisms of change experienced in MBT. Mentalizing self and others described the experience of generalizing new knowledge and skills to the world outside of therapy and unveiled the impact that engaging in MBT had on participants.

This meta-ethnography offers new insights into how clients experience MBT as a therapeutic process and offers suggestions for implementation in clinical practice as well as areas of focus for research of this therapeutic approach.

Community radio attempts to place the power of communication in the hands of community members, particularly the youth, so that they can create and broadcast materials that address local community issues. The purpose of the study is therefore to look into the potential impacts of community radio and the function it plays in youth development.

This study employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the role of community radio in information dissemination towards youth development in Ghana. Two community radio stations were selected for the study, and through the use of semi-structured interview, qualitative data were collected from 42 participants comprising two programme managers, four radio producers and 36 youth. The qualitative research approach enabled in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of the study.

This study found that both community radio stations aired youth-centred programmes that were beneficial to the development of the youth within the stations’ coverage communities. The results further reveal that community radio offers the opportunity and platform for the youth to engage the political authorities for development and also entertain themselves.

The authors consider this study original both in conceptualization and design. The main question being interrogated stems from identified gaps in the literature, and this study intends to fill these knowledge gaps. This study’s originality also stems from the fact that there is a paucity of information on the subject of study in the context of Ghana.

This paper aims to examine why retail firms seldom achieve full integration of online and offline channels as prescribed in omni-channel literature. It examines the intermediate process of channel integration from an internal, operational perspective.

This study is composed of two parts. In the first part, the authors interviewed informants from nine firms that were engaged in channel integration. In the second part, the authors conducted case studies with three firms from the cosmetics and skincare industry against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic to find evidence to support or negate the propositions made in the first part.

The first part identified six operational challenges to channel integration. The authors categorized these challenges into two groups: inter-channel communication and inter-channel competition. Inter-channel competition carries more weight at the latter stage of integration. The authors also identified two antecedents that affect the seriousness of these challenges: heterogeneity among channels in business operation and external competitive pressure. In the second part, the authors found that both inter-channel communication and inter-channel competition were improved because of the external competitive pressure exerted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the heterogeneity of offline channels against online channels in business operation is a double-edged sword.

The study identifies the changing effects of the challenges of channel integration and their antecedents in the midst of integration. The positive influence of a specific dimension of channel heterogeneity against other channels increases and then decreases along channel integration. The identification of the changing effects lays the foundation for a finer stage model of channel integration.

In this vein, this paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the following questions: Which expansion strategies offer better operational and economic performance? What effects does performance-related diversification have? How do other factors such as size, quality, service offered, location or seasonality interact with performance.

In this paper, the analysis of the effects of growth strategies and hotel attributes on performance is carried out with a sample of 255 hotels that operate internationally. Using panel data and quantile regression, this study evaluates the effect of expansion and diversification on the hotels’ performance.

From these findings, it appears that the equity strategy (own hotels) outperforms non-equity strategies (hotels under rental, franchise and management contract) at the operational level. However, the economic return of the property, both adjusted and unadjusted to risk, is lower under the property ownership strategy than under the franchise and management strategies because, in general, it requires a higher investment. Regarding diversification, the growth strategy based on related diversification in food and beverage services has a negative impact on performance, calling into question the synergies between the two businesses. However, an exception to this effect is seen among those hotels, mainly those in the Caribbean, that opt to provide all-inclusive services, since these hotels achieve better occupancy rates and more stable results.

This study has not taken into account the effect of hotel property revaluation on the performance of the ownership strategy, as there is no information on the historical average revaluation at the level of each individual hotel. This study has also been unable to include information regarding the level of competition and seasonality of sales.

This paper considers a wide number of factors that can influence the performance of hotels. Second, this is the only paper that studies the impact of growth strategies from the point of view of the hotel chain. Also, the sample considered uses data at the individual level on hotels and this research analyses not only operational performance but also economic performance.

Taking an organizational perspective, this paper aims to understand how organizations respond to such strong and concurrent societal effects, and to answer the question, “How should researchers conceptualize the symbiotic relationship between society and business during a catastrophic societal event?”

The authors highlight through numerous examples, the impact of COVID-19 on society is well-evidenced in the research. They also draw on such evidence of the effects of catastrophic societal events like COVID-19 to support the appropriateness of this conceptualization.

The authors found that organizations that use both short- and long-term activities concurrently are better able to tackle the concurrent short- and long-term effects of catastrophic events like COVID-19.

The authors use ambidexterity theory, supported by evidence derived from organizational responses to COVID-19, to offer a new and more comprehensive conceptualization that frames the concurrent and interrelated short-term and long-term organizational response to a catastrophic societal event. Further, they highlight the importance of studying such organizational responses in the context of the organization’s referent groups.

Coronary artery disease is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders in the world, and it can be deadly. Traditional diagnostic approaches are based on angiography, which is an interventional procedure having side effects such as contrast nephropathy or radio exposure as well as significant expenses. The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel artificial intelligence (AI) approach for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease as an effective alternative to traditional diagnostic methods.

In this study, a novel ensemble AI approach based on optimization and classification is proposed. The proposed ensemble structure consists of three stages: feature selection, classification and combining. In the first stage, important features for each classification method are identified using the binary particle swarm optimization algorithm (BPSO). In the second stage, individual classification methods are used. In the final stage, the prediction results obtained from the individual methods are combined in an optimized way using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to achieve better predictions.

The proposed method has been tested using an up-to-date real dataset collected at Basaksehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital. The data of disease prediction are unbalanced. Hence, the proposed ensemble approach improves majorly the F-measure and ROC area which are more prominent measures in case of unbalanced classification. The comparison shows that the proposed approach improves the F-measure and ROC area results of the individual classification methods around 14.5% in average and diagnoses with an accuracy rate of 96%.

This study presents a low-cost and low-risk AI-based approach for diagnosing heart disease compared to traditional diagnostic methods. Most of the existing research studies focus on base classification methods. In this study, we mainly investigate an effective ensemble method that uses optimization approaches for feature selection and combining stages for the medical diagnostic domain. Furthermore, the approaches in the literature are commonly tested on open-access dataset in heart disease diagnoses, whereas we apply our approach on a real and up-to-date dataset.

This study aims to understand the leadership characteristics of founders of social and environmental enterprises in Latin America who have achieved business success with a focus on sustainability despite difficult social, economic, political and even health contexts in which they live.

This nonexperimental research is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study. Twenty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with social/environmental entrepreneurs of the Kunan Network (an organization that groups the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Peru).

The study analyzes the leadership profile and characteristics of entrepreneurs who have created profitable businesses with a social/environmental focus that solve relevant social problems and contribute to improving people’s quality of life and caring for the environment.

Although only 21 business leaders with outstanding participation and positive social and environmental impact were included in this study, they were supported and recognized by the Kunan Network.

The study contributed to the conceptualization and understanding of the profile of leaders of social and environmental enterprises, whose main challenges are to solve social or environmental problems of society and contribute to improving the quality of life of people and the environment. Knowing the profile of these entrepreneurs generates value to the knowledge of the subject and contributes to understand and propose strategies to improve the ecosystem of social-environmental entrepreneurship in emerging countries such as Peru. This will contribute to the creation of relationships and alliances with various social actors: public, private, third sector, academia, among others, for the management and promotion of sustainable business.

El estudio busca conocer las características de liderazgo de los fundadores de empresas sociales y ambientales en América Latina que lograron el éxito de sus negocios desde un enfoque de sostenibilidad a pesar del difícil contexto social, económico, político e incluso sanitario en el cual viven.

En la investigación no experimental de tipo estudio cualitativo, descriptivo y exploratorio, se realizaron 21 entrevistas en profundidad a emprendedores socio/ambientales de la Red Kunan (organización que agrupa el ecosistema emprendedor en el Perú).

El estudio analiza el perfil de liderazgo y las características que tienen los emprendedores que crearon negocios rentables con enfoque social/ambiental que resuelven problemas sociales relevantes y contribuyen al mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de las personas y al cuidado del ambiente.

El estudio incluyó solo a 21 líderes emprendedores con destacada participación y impacto social y ambiental positivo, sin embargo es importante el reconocimiento y respaldo que estos tienen de parte de la Red Kunan.

El estudio contribuyó a la conceptualización y comprensión del perfil de los líderes de empresas sociales y ambientales cuyos principales desafíos son resolver problemas sociales y/o ambientales de la sociedad y contribuir al mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de las personas y del medio ambiente. Conocer el perfil de estos emprendedores creemos que genera valor al conocimiento del tema y contribuye a entender y proponer estrategias para mejorar el ecosistema del emprendimiento social/ambiental en países emergentes como el peruano; lo cual contribuye a generar relaciones y alianzas con diversos actores sociales: públicos, privados, tercer sector, academia, entre otros para la gestión y promoción de negocios sostenibles.

O estudo procura conhecer as características da liderança dos fundadores das empresas sociais e ambientais na América Latina que alcançaram o sucesso desde uma abordagem sustentável apesar do contexto social, econômico, político e sanitário difícil no qual vivem.

Na pesquisa não experimental de tipo de estudo qualitativo, descritivo e exploratório, se realizaram 21 entrevistas detalhadas a empreendedores socio/ambientais da Kunan Rede (organização que agrupa o ecossistema empreendedor no Peru).

O estudo analisa o perfil de liderança e as características dos empreendedores que criaram negócios rentáveis com uma abordagem socioambiental que resolvem problemas sociais relevantes e contribuem ao melhoramento da qualidade de vida das pessoas e ao cuidado do meio ambiente.

O estudo só incluiu 21 líderes empreendedores com destacada participação e um impacto socioambiental positivo. Não obstante, é importante mencionar que aqueles líderes têm o reconhecimento e apoio da Kunan Rede.

O estudo contribui para a conceptualização e compreensão do perfil dos líderes de empresas sociais e ambientais e cujos desafios principais são resolver problemas sociais e/ou ambientais da sociedade e ajudar ao melhoramento da qualidade de vida das pessoas e do meio ambiente. Conhecer o perfil desses empreendedores pode gerar valor ao conhecimento do tema e ajudar ao seu entendimento e propor estratégias para aprimorar o ecossistema do empreendedorismo socioambiental em países emergentes como Peru, assim pode contribuir ao relacionamento e parcerias com diversos atores sociais do setor público, privado, terceiro setor, academias, entre outros, para a gestão e promoção de negócios sustentáveis.

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of training and development (T&D) in the Visegrad countries (V4) as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, namely, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. These countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.

The authors used the HRD theory and the human capital theory to analyse the context, operations and impact of T&D in the V4 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in 400 companies, 100 from each of the four countries using the computer assisted web interviewing technique. The questionnaire was in a six-point Likert scale format and addressed 12 topics related to T&D: policy, expectations, procedures of diagnosis, preparation, implementation, monitoring, trainees, trainers, investment and expenditures, evaluation, results and controlling.

The authors concluded that in the Visegrad countries, Covid-19 raised expectations on T&D. This was followed by increased levels of action in diagnosis, preparation, monitoring and implementation, following pre-existing and adjusted policies. Evaluation and control were complicated. Investment and results and the human side of the T&D (trainees and trainers) were the ones for which there were more uncertainties and perplexities.

The study has the limitation of using only a small sample in four countries. For further research, the authors suggest a larger study extended to all the European Union countries, an in-depth analysis of the current data and the kurtosis on Policy of T&D.

The results of the research can be used to improve T&D programs after the Covid-19 pandemic. They could also provide information to external trainers to improve and adjust their services according to the opinions of the respondents of the study. The research findings can also serve institutions responsible for policy provision of HRD at a national level by providing possibilities to apply for funding either within national or regional funds like the National Training Fund in Poland or within European Union money at a national level.

The study is original because even if the T&D in V4 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic had already been studied separately (e.g. Mikołajczyk, 2021; Vrabcová, Urbancová 2021; Vinichenko et al., 2021), no empirical, cross-national research analysing specifically the T&D in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology, addressing 12 topics and the people involved together with the stages in which a T&D policy is divided. That makes it innovative and very relevant.