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The aim of this paper is to investigate whether/how youths’ pre-existing beliefs regarding health-related topics influence their online searching behaviors, such as their selection of keywords and search results, their credibility assessments and the conclusions they draw and the uses they make (or do not make) of the information they find. More specifically, we sought to determine whether positive hypothesis testing occurs when youth search for health information online and to ascertain the potential impacts this phenomenon can have on their search behaviors, their ability to accurately answer health-related questions and their confidence in their answers.

An exploratory field experiment was conducted with participants in an after-school program (“HackHealth”), which aims to improve the health literacy skills and health-related self-efficacy of middle-school students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Evidence of positive hypothesis testing among the participants was found and important impacts on their search outcomes were observed.

The paper was concluded with suggestions for improving digital literacy instruction for youth so as to counteract the potentially negative influences of positive hypothesis testing.

This study extends existing research about positive hypothesis testing to investigate the existence and impact of this phenomenon within the context of tweens (ages 11-14) searching for health information online.

Briefly reviews the standard Poisson distribution and then examines a set of derivative, modified Poisson distributions for testing hypotheses derived from positive deviation‐amplifying feedback models, which do not lend themselves to ordinary statistically based hypothesis testing. The “reinforcement” or “contagious” Poisson offers promise for a subset of such models, in particular those models with data in the form of rates (rather than magnitudes). The practical difficulty lies in distinguishing reinforcement effects from initial heterogeneity, since both can form negative binomial distributions, with look‐alike data. Illustrates these difficulties, and also opportunities, for various feedback models employing the self‐fulfilling prophecy, and especially for confidence loops, which incorporate particular self‐fulfilling prophecies as part of a larger dynamic process. Describes an actual methodology for testing hypotheses regarding confidence loops with the aid of a “reinforcement” Poisson distribution, as well as its place within sociocybernetics.

The leading multinational companies tend to expand their marketing activities to bottom of pyramid (BOP) market. The BOP market comprises many segments, however, little is known about the purchase behaviour of BOP market or segments therein. Microcredit provides credit access to customers in BOP market. The purpose of this paper is to investigate youth’s intentions of obtaining microcredit in the post-war era, which could be a segment of BOP market.

The sample comprised 1,250 youth aged 18-27 selected from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Surveys were administered for data collection. After testing measurement model, two structural models – full model and non-mediated model (direct effects model) were run to test hypotheses.

Positive affect, subjective norms, entrepreneurial desire and self-identity enhanced intentions of obtaining microcredit, whereas perceived deterrents reduced those intentions. Additionally, self-identity mediated the association between positive affect, entrepreneurial desire, perceived behavioural control and knowledge of microcredit, and intentions of obtaining microcredit.

This study was conducted amongst youth in one country. Also, the data were cross-sectional. Hence, the model needs testing with youth and adults in other post-war contexts and with longitudinal data.

The findings of this study inform how effectively microcredit can be marketed to youth in post-war contexts and to the other segments of BOP market.

A unique purchase behavioural model is suggested with the mediating role of self-identity, to enhance intentions of obtaining microcredit in BOP markets, such as youth in post-war contexts. This study contributes to literature relating to purchase behaviour and self-identity, with particular reference to BOP market.

An important objective of human resource (HR) research is to understand how HR practices can influence employee attitudes and behaviors in order to help achieve organizational goals via employee performance. The paper studies the relationship between High Performance Work System (HPWS) and employee service performance (ESP) via organizational support (OS) and organizational identification (OI). On one hand, this may help understand the “black box” between HPWS practices and ESP. On the other hand, while OS refers to employees' evaluations of favorable treatment from the organization and HPWS represent a significant channel the organization uses to communicate its support to employees, OS and OI literatures have not comprehensively examined the effect of HPWS practices on employee OS and OI beliefs.

This study takes a quantitative approach and employs hierarchical regression from a sample of 467 employees in 10 commercial banks in Sierra Leone.

The results show a positive relationship between HPWS practices and ESP and at the same time OS and OI partially mediate the relationship, suggesting that employees draw inferences from the HPWS-related treatment they receive in assessing the supportiveness of the organization.

In this study, the authors put forth an innovative conceptual model of performance management by testing the relationships which have not been tested before, especially in a new context of banking industry in Sierra Leone. By implementing HPWS practices that demonstrate the organization cares about the employees' well-being and values their contribution, organizations are likely to be perceived as offering high levels of support for the employees.

The results of this study add to our knowledge about the antecedents of OS and OI. Moreover, while OS and OI research has been largely rooted in the organizational behavior literature, this study bridges the human resource literature and the organizational behavior literature, by combining HPWS, OS, OI and ESP.

Bottom of pyramid market (BOP) has gained attention of researchers and marketers in recent years. The BOP market comprises many segments, however, little is known about purchase behaviour in BOP market or segments therein. The purpose of this paper is to investigate youth's intentions of seeking microcredit in the post-war era that are an integral part of BOP market.

The sample comprised 1,250 youth aged 18 and above from Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Surveys were administered for data collection. After testing measurement model, a structural model was run to test hypotheses.

Positive affect, subjective norms and entrepreneurial desire enhanced intentions of seeking microcredit, whereas perceived deterrents negatively influenced those intentions. Perceived benefits, perceived behavioural control and knowledge of microcredit did not have significant effects on these intentions.

This study was conducted in one war-affected country, Sri Lanka. Also, data were cross-sectional. Hence the model needs replication amongst youth in other post-conflict contexts and with longitudinal data.

Findings of this study would be of use to market microcredit to youth in post-conflict era and other segments of BOP.

A unique purchase behavioural model is suggested to enhance youths’ intentions of seeking microcredit in the post-war era, a segment within the BOP market. This study can contribute to purchase behaviour literature in identified contexts.

Architecture influences people and the environment from the past, present and the future. Nevertheless architecture and design quality is viewed as subjective, and benchmarks to achieve consensus are necessary for design or evaluation of buildings. This paper establishes architectural design criteria for design quality of multi-storey housing buildings. A set of the criteria was established with literature review, an operational definition and survey on qualified persons or architects in the professional practice of architecture. The literature reviews identified seven concepts for architecture and design quality, and the operational definition translated this architectural design quality to measurable and observable cases and variables. The survey collected these variable data from a purposive sample of 95 respondents, and these data were examined by statistical analysis. The results of the descriptive statistics, inferential t-tests (p ≤ 0.05) and positive hypothesis testing verified that respondents in general agreed to these seven design concepts as architectural design criteria for design quality. These results established the first ever set of seven architectural design criteria which were ranked in descending order of significance as function, socio-culture, site context, cost, aesthetic of art, sustainability, and Feng Shui. These architectural design criteria can be applied to the design or evaluation of multi-storey housing buildings for the good of people and the environment.

The study advances an enhanced model encompassing psychological involvement, denoted as the psychological continuum model (PCM) and perceived customer service quality as intermediaries in the association between subjective customer knowledge (SCK) and behavioral loyalty. The purpose of this study is to assess the mediating role of psychological engagement and consumers' perceived service quality in the relationship between SCK and behavioral loyalty among members of nonprofit sports service organizations. Additionally, the study aims to examine the impact of membership duration on the relationship between consumer knowledge and behavioral loyalty.

The study used a quantitative research design, and primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 527 members of nonprofit Chinese sports clubs who were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was developed to measure all constructs in the intended research model. The suitability of the measurement model was analyzed by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data using AMOS-24.

The results of the overall direct effect indicate a significant influence of subjective knowledge on perceived service quality, perceived service quality significantly and positively influences psychological engagement; psychological engagement was found to be an important predictor of consumer behavioral loyalty.

The results offer information for nonprofit sports club (NPSC) managers who seek to increase the attractiveness and retention of their clubs' members by establishing the importance of subjective consumer knowledge.

Extant literature shows that employee voice has ambiguous effects on organizational outcome. Especially because employee voice challenges the status quo, it can attract retaliation and lead to silencing of the employee. Thus, rather than producing change, employee voice can lead to increase in workplace tensions. On the other hand, employee voice also has positive consequences such as building a partnership-based culture between supervisors and employees. The purpose of this article is to reconcile these contradictory findings by reinforcing voice as having a deliberative dimension which fosters a harmonious dialogue around workplace issues.

We surveyed 628 managers working in organizations across different industrial relations contexts in India. Managers working in different sectors were chosen so that we could examine the consequences of employee voice across contexts with differing trade union strengths. We adopted a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach to test the effect of employee voice on environment for innovation.

We find that trust in senior management and relationship between employees and their supervising managers mediate the relationship between employee voice and environment for innovation. The findings in the article do reconcile an important dilemma about employee voice. Earlier studies have argued that employee voice is a mechanism for engaging with the dissatisfaction that employees may have in their workplaces. Our study indicates that when deliberative elements are incorporated into employee voice it is no longer merely a means for addressing dissatisfaction but constructively contributes to positive organizational outcomes such as environment for innovation.

The effects of employee voice on environment for innovation can be understood more clearly by adopting a longitudinal research design. The findings of this article are limited by the cross-sectional frame of research design adopted. The scale that is developed for employee voice needs more validation in other international contexts.

This study provides a framework through which employee voice can be shifted from adversarial frames of reference to harmonious and partnership-based forms of engagement. This also has the potential to transform the role of trade unions inside organizations and build a more collaborative edifice between multiple stakeholders. Another implication is that when voice is seen in a deliberative fashion it can lead to improved environment for innovation.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to reconceptualization of employee voice by contending that deliberative issues are an important part of transforming the status quo. Consequently, the patterns of deliberation structure constructive partnerships between different organizational stakeholders who may be perceived as having hostile relationships with each other. This study reconciles previous findings which suggested that employee voice can have negative consequences such as retaliation by suggesting that positive consequences of employee voice are contingent on its deliberative component.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between the adoption of Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) – which is considered the most important ethical certification standard – and firm performance, building on agency and contingency theories.

The authors analyse secondary longitudinal balance sheet data of listed firms employing a rigorous event-study approach and compare SA8000-certified companies to different control groups based on three matching criteria, i.e., industry, size, and pre-certification performance. The authors then study the moderating effects of the cultural features, the country’s development level, and the labour intensity on the causal relationship through multiple regression methods.

The authors find that SA8000 certification positively affects labour productivity and sales performance but has no effect on profitability. Furthermore, the study supports that the relationship between SA8000 and profitability is moderated by two cultural features of the home country of the firms (i.e. power distance and uncertainty avoidance).

This is the first study, which empirically tests the effects of the ethical certification SA8000 on firm performance using a cross-country sample. In addition, the authors contribute to the wider debate on the effects of corporate social responsibility practices on firm performance.

Few studies have explored how to foster green customer citizenship behavior. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the factors influencing green customer citizenship behavior in a restaurant context.

This study proposes a conceptual model, based on previous studies, hypothesizing that green attributes transparency engenders green brand image and green trust, which together facilitate green customer citizenship behavior. The authors used structural equations modeling with data collected from 312 consumers in Taiwan to do the analysis.

The findings indicate that green attributes transparency plays a strong role in determining green brand image and green trust, which enhance green customer citizenship behavior. Managerial implications to aid businesses in developing strategies to enhance their ability to foster green citizenship behavior among its consumers for competitive advantage is also provided, together with an outline of the limitations of the study.

This study used the concept of stimulus–organism–response to test the stimuli of green attributes transparency to enhance customer citizenship behavior mediated by green brand image and green trust. This study makes two theoretical contributions. First, this study extended the concept of attributes transparency, brand image, trust and customer citizenship behavior to a green context. The authors developed a research framework and confirmed that green attributes transparency facilitate green brand image and green trust, which contribute to green customer citizenship behavior. Second, there is no prior study exploring the relationship between green attributes transparency, green brand image, green trust and green customer citizenship behavior. The empirical support for the model developed in this study is based on empirical data of Taiwan restaurant consumers.