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A better understanding of the characteristics and capabilities of women entrepreneurs can significantly improve their chances of success. Therefore, three studies were conducted for this exploratory paper. We have discovered the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence among female entrepreneurs through semi-structured interviews based on conventional content analysis. According to the second study, qualitative meta-synthesis was utilized to identify characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at the international level. As a third study, we examined the evolutionary relationships of entrepreneurs' intelligence components following the discovery and creation of opportunities.

The present paper was based on three studies. In the first study, 15 female entrepreneurs were interviewed using purposive sampling in the Guilan province of Iran to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence at the national level. An inductive content analysis was performed on the data collected through interviews. Using Shannon entropy and qualitative validation, their validity was assessed. In the second study, using a qualitative meta-synthesis, the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence were identified. Then the results of these two studies were compared with each other. In the third study, according to the results obtained from the first and second studies, the emergence, priority and evolution of entrepreneurial intelligence components in two approaches to discovering and creating entrepreneurial opportunities were determined. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 12 selected experts using the purposeful sampling method using the fuzzy total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method.

In the first research, this article identified the components of entrepreneurial intelligence of women entrepreneurs in six categories: entrepreneurial insights, cognitive intelligence, social intelligence, intuitive intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence. In the second study, the components of entrepreneurial intelligence were compared according to the study at the national level and international literature. Finally, in the third study, the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence was determined. In the first level, social intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence are formed first and social intelligence and provocative intelligence have an interactive relationship. In the second level, entrepreneurial insight and cognitive intelligence appear, which, in addition to their interactive relationship, take precedence over the entrepreneur's intuitive intelligence in discovering entrepreneurial opportunities. With the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence in the opportunity creation approach, it is clear that intuitive intelligence is formed first at the first level and takes precedence. At the second level, there is cognitive intelligence is created. At the third level, motivational intelligence and finally, at the last level, entrepreneurial insight, social intelligence and bold intelligence.

This study has the potential to discover credible and robust approaches for further examining the contextualization of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at both national and international levels, thereby advancing new insights. By conceptualizing various components of entrepreneurial intelligence for the first time and exploring how contextual factors differ across nations and internationally for women's entrepreneurship, this paper challenges the assumption that the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence are uniform worldwide. It also depicts the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence.

In construction projects, underpayments can be recognised as one of the significant drawbacks that impact the success of a project. Research into underpayments is considered ambiguous and provides a limited reflection of the issue, which makes it complicated to trace how it originates in the first place. This study aims to examine the causes that lead to underpayments and develop a holistic synthesis of underpayments for subcontractors in the lifecycle of a construction project.

An open-ended and closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect the data using purposeful sampling with 28 construction stakeholders who ranged from main contractors, subcontractors and others (Small medium enterprises SMEs, Consultancies, Clients etc.). Data collected was analysed to trace drivers and the impact of underpayment and suggested mitigation strategies to be identified whilst viewing the perspectives of a main contractor and subcontractor.

The findings show that the most prominent driver for underpayments is variation disputes followed by cash flow. The research also suggests mitigation strategies such as collaborative working, more robust budget control and early identification of risks as potential remedies to overcome the underpayment issue. The research concludes with a framework that elicits the complexity underlying underpayments for subcontractors in construction projects.

The research evolves the understanding that underpayment is a complex phenomenon, relying heavily on the data/information exchange mechanism between the main contractor and subcontractors. This research provokes the need to understand underpayment further so it can be mitigated.

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) identify strategies to (re)establish organizational legitimacy which dominates the literature; (2) propose and empirically illustrate an analytical framework that establishes the linkages between the dimensions of purposefulness, transparency and participation identified in this literature review as important resources in the creation of organizational legitimacy.

Based on a review of the academic literature, we propose a three-dimensional conceptual framework for understanding and studying strategic communication in contexts of high sustainability pressure. The empirical material we use for illustration is the letters from the chief executive officer (CEO) and the chairman published in the integrated annual report of a Danish company that is well known for its focus on sustainability.

The analysis shows that all three dimensions, i.e. purposefulness, transparency and participation, are present in this data, which the authors find supportive of the theoretical argument that strategic communication needs to encompass all three concepts in order to appear legitimate in contexts of high sustainability pressure.

In recent years, there has been an increased focus on strategic communication of sustainability. However, there is still a lack of general consensus of what is understood by strategic communication in contexts of high sustainability pressure. Overlapping concepts and dimensions make operationalization difficult. This, for example, is a problem for corporations who are increasingly asked by their stakeholders to account for their sustainability activities and engage in conversations of strategic significance to their sustainability goals.

This research paper aimed to investigate the affordances of using virtual reality (VR) in teaching culture among in-service teachers of teaching Persian to speakers of other languages (TPSOL) in Iran.

This qualitative case study, conducted at two Iranian universities, used purposeful sampling to select 34 eligible in-service Persian teachers from a pool of 73. Data collection used an open-ended questionnaire and interviews.

Before the TPSOL in-service training workshop, teachers expressed their reservations regarding the use of VR to teach culture in TPSOL courses. The emerged themes were “skepticism toward effectiveness,” “practicality concerns,” “limited awareness of VR applications,” “technological apprehension” and “prevalence of traditional teaching paradigms.” During the post-workshop interview, it was discovered that the teachers’ perceptions of VR in teaching culture had undergone a positive shift. The workshop generated emergent themes that reflected positive perceptions and affordances for using VR to teach culture in TPSOL, including “enhanced cultural immersion,” “increased student engagement,” “simulation of authentic cultural experiences,” and “facilitation of interactive learning environments.”

One primary limitation is the lack of prior experience with VR for teaching practices in real-world classrooms among the participants. While the study aimed to explore the potential of VR in enhancing pedagogical approaches, the absence of participants with prior exposure to VR in educational contexts may impact the generalizability of the findings to a broader population. Additionally, the study faced practical constraints, such as the unavailability of sufficient facilities in the workshop. As a result, the instructor had to project the VR cont7ent on a monitor, potentially diverging from the immersive nature of true VR experiences. These limitations offer opportunities for future research to refine methodologies and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of integrating VR into teaching practices.

Extensive research has been conducted on the effectiveness of VR in language education. However, there is a significant gap in research on TPSOL, which is considered a less commonly taught language. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the use of VR in the TPSOL through the lenses of in-service teachers. As part of a larger investigation, this qualitative inquiry focuses on the perceptions of in-service teachers about VR, with a particular emphasis on the cultural understanding of the Persian language.

This study explores the current status of risk management (RM) in Sri Lanka and the obstacles in implementing RM in Sri Lankan small construction projects.

The current research study adopted a quantitative research method. Using a purposeful sampling strategy, 100 construction companies engaged in small construction projects in Sri Lanka were selected and a questionnaire was distributed among top managerial employees of these companies. Employees belonging to 47 companies responded to the survey which provided information relating to 812 construction projects. The collected data were analyzed using the RM implementation index (RMII) and other quantitative measures such as mean, median and percentages.

The research findings indicated that RM incorporation was at a lower degree in small construction projects in Sri Lanka. The findings further indicated that RM incorporation was relatively high in the public construction projects compared to the private construction projects. The main obstacles identified through the survey for RM implementation were: “lack of funding”, “lack of time”, “low profit margin”, “not economical” and “lack of knowledge”.

The study was limited to exploring RM implementation in small construction projects in Sri Lanka. The study was limited to the building construction companies under the 150-million-rupee (approx. below 450,000 USD) financial limit registered with the construction industry development authority in Sri Lanka.

RM in small construction projects in developing countries is a relatively less explored domain. Sri Lankan construction industry is another relatively less explored domain in terms of new management technique implementation such as RM and value management. The quantitative approach used for the study revealed that RM implementation is at a lower degree in the small construction projects. Moreover, several obstacles pertaining to RM implementation were recognized through this study. These findings will be useful for the construction stakeholders to overcome the recognized barriers and effectively use RM in their respective construction projects.

This study aims at measuring the results of the use of an improved and innovative teaching method, specifically designed for supporting the development of students’ entrepreneurship competence, through students’ self-assessment before and after the teaching.

The teaching methods design was based on the effectuation approach and considering the comprehensive entrepreneurship competence model as theoretical grounding. The teaching methods experimentation took place in three countries (Estonia, Italy and Poland), collecting pre–post self-assessment surveys from 404 students of entrepreneurship courses. The results of the experimental groups were compared, in each country, with those of control groups not exposed to the same teaching.

Students participating in classes using innovative teaching methods declared an increase in entrepreneurship competencies, with statistically significant differences, contrasting the results in the control group. The positive changes in self-assessment were observed for 13 of 14 subcompetencies investigated. The increase in the level of the self-assessment of entrepreneurship subcompetencies was significantly greater among bachelor’s degree students.

The strengths of the study include a diverse research sample and a uniform structure of teaching design applied in three different countries, while specific comparative studies on entrepreneurship education and its effect on learners are limited. Moreover, this study used a pre–post design and involved a control group, while most of the existing research on the effect of entrepreneurship teaching are based on different methods. Finally, while most studies measure the impact of entrepreneurship education by focusing on entrepreneurial intentions, this study focused on the development of students’ entrepreneurship competences.

This study aims to investigate how a sample of US municipalities use social media for strategic communication, focusing on efforts to effectively measure and evaluate that communication. Research questions focus on measurement and evaluation practices, as well as the motivations and impacts associated with these practices.

This research uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted with 12 municipal government personnel responsible for social media communication. The self-selected participants represent 10 states and all US Census regions. Data was content analyzed and categorized according to four research questions, with emergent themes described.

The results show a diverse set of approaches and motivations, with surface-level measurement and evaluation methods. Initial efforts at more ad hoc use of social media are moving toward more deliberate strategies, but limited resources inhibit progress for some municipalities.

Few studies exist which explore how US municipalities formally measure and evaluate their social media activities as part of their overall strategic communication efforts. This study adds to the existing literature by providing insight into the measurement and evaluation practices that municipalities use to assess their social media communication. The study also provides a basis for larger and deeper investigations of municipal strategic communication practices related to measurement and evaluation.

This study aims to develop theory on the process toward digital service innovation (DSI) and to generate insights into how companies deal with the rising complexity associated with DSI, both inside and outside of the organization, through organizational learning and alignment.

After purposeful sampling, in-depth, longitudinal case studies of three manufacturers are presented as illustration. Per case, multiple semi-structured interviews are conducted, and insights are validated through rich additional data gathering. Each company's DSI pathway is reconstructed with critical incident technique. Next, using systematic combining, a middle-range theory is developed by proposing a theoretical frame concerning the relations between DSI maturity, learning and alignment.

The authors posit that, as companies gradually develop and progress toward DSI maturity, they deal with a rising degree of complexity, fueling their learning needs. Companies that are apt to learn, pass through multiple cycles of learning and alignment to overcome specific complexities associated with different DSI stages, with each cycle unlocking new DSI opportunities and challenges.

The study applies a stage-based view on DSI combined with complexity management and organizational learning and alignment theory. It offers a theoretical frame and propositions to be used by researchers for future DSI studies and by managers to evaluate alternative DSI strategies and implementation steps.

As an important indicator of the quality of life of individuals, residential environments are continuing to evolve, due to the rapidly changing production–consumption relations. However, in this evolving process, the effect of the differentiated residential environments on the individuals' residential satisfaction remains unclear. This paper aims to measure the effects of the varying residential environments on the overall quality of urban life (QoUL) in Kayseri, one of the most developed cities in Central Anatolia.

It is based on empirical data on the quality of life in the different residential environments of Kayseri. The research method used stratified purposeful sampling, and the household survey data were analyzed using factor analysis, multiple regression and ANOVA statistical methods.

The most influential factors on the overall QoUL of individuals living in different Kayseri residential neighborhoods were satisfaction with neighborhood and city-level urban services, neighborhood relations and belonging factor groups. The critical finding obtained in this study is that residential satisfaction in low-rise and compact form housing areas in Kayseri is higher compared to residential satisfaction in high-rise neighborhoods. This result reveals that the high-rise building typology that is dominant in Turkey's big cities should be seriously questioned, and urban development policies should be re-evaluated.

The study was designed to produce baseline data so that future changes in residential conditions as perceived by the residents of Kayseri could be monitored to support decisions for residential areas.

Comparative case studies, particularly on low-rise versus high-rise environments, are scarce. As a result, this research contributes to the field of comparative studies on residential environments.

This research aims to explore people management (PM) dimensions in Nepalese recycling startups (R-startups).

It follows a case study and qualitative research approach. Information is collected from Internet searches and R-startups’ blogs. For research purposes, 12 cases out of 30 R-startups are selected using convenient and purposeful non-probability sampling methods.

Three major findings are as follows: (1) the founders of R-startups have become more environmentally aware and motivated to source materials, manufacture products and deliver them without harming the environment; (2) the founders are establishing work-flow to create future employment opportunities and (3) the PM dimensions in R-startups appear to be sustainable and apparently linked with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.5, which aims to reduce waste generation substantially through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

Since researchers use widely accessible internet information, there is no possibility of interfering with the website's text and data. The analysis is solely based on the opinions of founders/co-founders of R-startups.

This research presents PM dimensions in R-startups and contributes to the literature in this new field of study. Although on a small scale, this research can provide a basis for minimizing circulatory gaps and closing the loop through circular business (CB). It also provides insights into managing waste in order to create opportunities and wealth.

This is one of the few unexplored areas of academic research. The critical PM dimensions investigated in this study can serve as a baseline for future theoretical development in the context of a specific country.