Search results

This study aims to work toward understanding the entrepreneurship ecosystem of agricultural social enterprises in the Philippines by exploring the interactions between policy, culture, supports and human capital domains.

The authors considered using an exploratory single-embedded case study approach, involving methodological triangulation of document analysis, semistructured interviews and participant observation. The authors analyzed the data using a narrative approach to map the ecosystem.

Through the research, the authors discovered that while each domain functions effectively individually, disconnects exist when interacting collectively as an ecosystem. The authors come to know that there is no policy consensus on social enterprise definitions, which limits specialized policy support. Although support services like incubators are available, the authors observed that awareness and accessibility vary based on location and business maturity. The authors also noted that human capital helps translate concepts into frameworks, but research tailored to agriculture and social entrepreneurship is limited. The authors come to the conclusion that collaboration and openness across domains are needed to strengthen connections and synergies.

The study was geographically limited to Luzon Island, and the authors did not include the finance and markets domains of the ecosystem model in the analysis.

Based on the findings, the authors identify strategies to reinforce connections, such as increasing awareness of support services, developing tailored policies for social enterprises, conducting specialized research and promoting collaboration across domains. The authors are convinced that implementing these strategies can further develop the agricultural social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The study provides unique empirical insights into the agricultural social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Philippines. The authors captured the narratives and experiences of key ecosystem stakeholders along the process. The authors have confidence that what the authors found can strategically guide policymakers and support organizations, educational institutions and social entrepreneurs to accelerate ecosystem development for greater social impact.

The study directs attention to the psychological conditions experienced and knowledge management practices leveraged by faculty in higher education institutes (HEIs) to cope with the shift to emergency remote teaching caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By focusing attention on faculty experiences during this transition, this study aims to examine an under-investigated effect of the pandemic in the Indian context.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis is used to analyze the data gathered in two waves through 40 in-depth interviews with 20 faculty members based in India over a year. The data were analyzed deductively using Kahn’s framework of engagement and robust coding protocols.

Eight subthemes across three psychological conditions (meaningfulness, availability and safety) were developed to discourse faculty experiences and challenges with emergency remote teaching related to their learning, identity, leveraged resources and support received from their employing educational institutes. The findings also present the coping strategies and knowledge management-related practices that the faculty used to adjust to each discussed challenge.

The study uses a longitudinal design and phenomenology as the analytical method, which offers a significant methodological contribution to the extant literature. Further, the study’s use of Kahn’s model to examine the faculty members’ transitions to emergency remote teaching in India offers novel insights into the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on educational institutes in an under-investigated context.

The shift toward a circular economy (CE) represents a collaborative endeavor necessitating the presence of efficient frameworks, conducive contexts and a common comprehension. This research serves as a pivotal stride towards this goal, presenting an exclusive prospect for the investigation and fusion of these frameworks, with particular emphasis on the Quintuple Helix Model (5HM), into a unified theoretical framework that underscores the core principles of the CE. This study is centered on three pivotal questions aimed at decoding the CE transition in specific regional settings.

Adopting an abductive approach firmly anchored in a two-stage qualitative process, this study specifically merges the foundational principles from institutional theory, entrepreneurship literature and CE frameworks to provide insights into the dynamics of circular ecosystems, with a specific focus on the Huelva region in Spain.

The findings demonstrate significant potential in the CE, ranging from the integration of product and service systems to innovations in eco-industrial practices. Yet, a notable deficiency exists: the absence of institutional entrepreneurs, highlighting the essential role that universities can play. As recognized centers of innovation, universities are suggested to be key contributors to the transformation toward a CE, aligning with their societal and economic responsibilities.

This study highlights the importance of managing relationships with entities like SMEs and policymakers or academia for effective CE adoption. Policymakers can refine strategies based on the research’s insights, while the impact of university-driven circular ecosystems on sustainable societies is another crucial area for research.

The sustainability models cited in CE literature may not be comprehensive enough to prevent problem shifting, and it can be argued that they lack a sound theoretical and conceptual basis. Furthermore, the connections between sustainability objectives and the three levels of the CE operating system remain vague. Additionally, there is insufficient information on how regions foster the involvement of the environment in fivefold helix cooperation and how this impacts the CE.

This paper investigates whether and to what extent operating in inner areas affects the profitability of innovative Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over 2012–2018.

Guided by the National Strategy for Inner Areas and the “Investment Compact,” this study distinguishes between inner and core innovative SMEs. It employs various econometric models to estimate a regression for the return on assets of SMEs, differentiating between firms operating in inner and non-inner areas of northwest, northeast, centre and south Italy.

Findings reveal that innovative SMEs in inner areas generally exhibit lower profitability compared to those in non-inner municipalities. However, huge heterogeneity in results is observed across the country. Specifically, innovative SMEs in the inner areas of the south register lower profitability than those operating in non-inner zones. Conversely, innovative SMEs located in the inner municipalities of northwest and northeast Italy show higher profitability than their peers in non-inner areas. The results imply that targeted policies for inner areas are crucial. However, due to the diversity of local impacts, a differentiated approach, depending on the geographic context, is necessary.

The study aims to explore the relationship between inner areas and the performance of innovative SMEs in Italy. More precisely, it examines the effect of operating in a municipality located within an inner area on the profitability of innovative SMEs. This issue has been overlooked in existing literature. Importantly, we aim to determine whether there is a heterogeneous impact based on geographical localisation, specifically in the Northwest, the Northeast, the Centre and the South of the country. Therefore, this paper contributes to the literature by investigating the factors influencing the performance of innovative SMEs and suggesting new policy recommendations for developing inner areas in Italy.

Reflective practice (RP) is a key skill for developing one’s professional practice. It has, however, not been unanimously prioritised in public health (PH) competency and education frameworks. Reflection activities are often unstructured in higher education. There is also a dearth of literature on the RPs of undergraduate PH students. This study aims to explore in greater depth how RP helps undergraduate PH students explore their own learning in internships.

Reflection prompts were designed using the DEAL model. 124 written reflection entries from 32 students were collected and analysed thematically using a deductive-inductive approach. The conceptual framework of internship learning goals by Ash and Clayton (2009) was used to guide the deductive analysis.

Three themes were identified: initial engagement with reflective learning; gradual integration of reflective learning, and a transformative phase involving professional development, personal growth, civic learning, growth through struggle, being confronted with differences in expectations, and skill acquisition.

This study extends the limited evidence regarding RP in undergraduate non-medical PH education, and contributes toward informing the revision of undergraduate PH programmes, for example, by integrating structured reflection earlier in the curricula, and establishing/supporting mentorship programmes between institutions. The findings call for PH educators to be more intentional in creating opportunities to nurture RP among budding PH professionals.

In 2021, more than half a million Indian students traveled abroad to pursue Master’s programs. Against this background, we explore why Indian students do not enroll in Master’s programs in Indian higher education (IHE) institutions.

Semi-structured, in-depth online interviews of 30 Indian international students pursuing post-graduation studies in four major host countries were conducted to elicit the required information. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach. The attribution theory was used as a theoretical lens to discuss the findings.

The results indicate that the primary reasons for students not choosing Indian institutions are wide-ranging. The need to study abroad, decision influencers and why they did not consider IHE institutes were three significant categories encompassing nine themes. The study revealed that besides other factors, the rigor of admission in premier Indian universities is much higher when compared with other international universities. Also, the perceived rate of return in investing in those developed countries' universities is better when compared with those of premier Indian universities.

The insights will act as marketing intelligence for supporting the business and university administrators of Indian universities in formulating effective tactics to admit more students from this in-demand Indian subgroup.

Most of the existing research papers discuss the motivation and challenges of Indian international students for studying abroad, There is negligible research on their demotivation to join IHE institutions. The present study tries to focus on the aspects that most of them considered but did not join IHE. Also, the attribution theory is a new perspective for understanding their behavior in selecting higher education institutions.

The study aims to identify the practical borders of AI legal personality and accountability in human-centric services.

Using a framework tailored for AI studies, this research analyses structured interview data collected from auditors based in Poland.

The study identified new constructs to complement the taxonomy of arguments for AI legal personality: cognitive strain, consciousness, cyborg paradox, reasoning replicability, relativism, AI misuse, excessive human effort and substitution.

The insights presented herein are primarily derived from the perspectives of Polish auditors. There is a need for further exploration into the viewpoints of other key stakeholders, such as lawyers, judges and policymakers, across various global contexts.

The findings of this study hold significant potential to guide the formulation of regulatory frameworks tailored to AI applications in human-centric services. The proposed sui generis AI personality institution offers a dynamic and adaptable alternative to conventional legal personality models.

The outcomes of this research contribute to the ongoing public discourse on AI’s societal impact. It encourages a balanced assessment of the potential advantages and challenges associated with granting legal personality to AI systems.

This paper advocates for establishing a sui generis AI personality institution alongside a joint accountability model. This dual framework addresses the current uncertainties surrounding human, general AI and super AI characteristics and facilitates the joint accountability of responsible AI entities and their ultimate beneficiaries.

The proliferation of lean principles in the construction industry is offset by the enduring uncertainty among industry stakeholders regarding their respective roles in lean implementation. This uncertainty is further compounded by the scarcity of empirical investigations in this area. Consequently, this study undertakes the task of bridging this knowledge gap by identifying the critical roles of lean learners and their indispensable contributions to achieving successful lean implementation.

A qualitative exploratory approach informed by an interpretivism perspective was adopted. The case study strategy was employed to gather data from three contracting organisations that had implemented lean practices. Empirical data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with fifteen industry experts and complemented by document reviews. To analyse the data, a code-based content analysis approach was employed using NVivo software, while Power BI software was utilised to develop a comprehensive force-directed graph visualisation.

The research findings substantiated nine lean learners and unveiled a set of seventy-three roles associated with them. The force-directed graph facilitated the identification of lean learners and their connections to the emerged roles. Notably, the graph highlighted the pivotal role played by project managers and internal lean trainers in ensuring the success of lean implementation, surpassing the contributions of other lean learners.

The implications of findings extend to industry professionals seeking to establish a robust lean learning framework to expedite lean implementation within the construction sector. This study not only provides a comprehensive definition of lean learners’ roles but also transcends specific construction types, making it a significant catalyst for global impact.

The objective of this research is to investigate the capabilities of the ChatGPT GPT-4 model, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), in comparison to human experts in the context of construction project risk management.

Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study draws a qualitative and quantitative comparison between 16 human risk management experts from Finnish construction companies and the ChatGPT AI model utilizing anonymous peer reviews. It focuses primarily on the areas of risk identification, analysis, and control.

ChatGPT has demonstrated a superior ability to generate comprehensive risk management plans, with its quantitative scores significantly surpassing the human average. Nonetheless, the AI model's strategies are found to lack practicality and specificity, areas where human expertise excels.

This study marks a significant advancement in construction project risk management research by conducting a pioneering blind-review study that assesses the capabilities of the advanced AI model, GPT-4, against those of human experts. Emphasizing the evolution from earlier GPT models, this research not only underscores the innovative application of ChatGPT-4 but also the critical role of anonymized peer evaluations in enhancing the objectivity of findings. It illuminates the synergistic potential of AI and human expertise, advocating for a collaborative model where AI serves as an augmentative tool, thereby optimizing human performance in identifying and managing risks.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of stakeholder integration and project complexity on information technology (IT) projects in Kenya. The following research question guided our inquiry: what is the influence of project complexity and stakeholder integration on the performance of IT projects in Kenya?

To advance the current understanding of the effect of stakeholder integration and project complexity on IT projects, multiple regressions were used to predict how project complexity and stakeholder integration influence project performance. Both government-funded and privately funded IT projects from a developing country were examined.

The study found that any project’s complexity and stakeholder integration levels offer a distinctive contribution to its success. Theoretically, the study contributes to linkages between stakeholder integration and project complexity concerning IT project performance. Through the adoption of actionable research and theoretical elaboration, we have shown that the successful execution of IT projects is driven by the successful integration of stakeholders and monitoring the level of complexity at each phase of the project.

The findings of this study add to the burgeoning literature on the performance of IT projects and come with several managerial implications as well. It brings to the fore the concept of stakeholder integration as an essential element of project success. The findings suggest that the inclusion of stakeholder integration into corporate decisions, strategies and policies can be an asset to the production of sustainable competitive advantages needed during the implementation of IT projects in government entities and organisations. As shown in this study, all the above require a collaborative platform allowing for data sharing among diverse stakeholders to ameliorate distrust or lack of information.