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1 – 10 of 36Philip Tin Yun Lee, Aki Pui Yi Hui, Richard Wing Cheung Lui and Michael Chau
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Originality/value
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.
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Tapas Bantha, Umakanta Nayak and Subhendu Kumar Mishra
This study aims to examine the association between workplace spirituality (WPS) and individual’s work engagement (WE) and also the mediating effect of individual’s psychological…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the association between workplace spirituality (WPS) and individual’s work engagement (WE) and also the mediating effect of individual’s psychological conditions [psychological meaningfulness (PSYM), psychological safety (PSYS) and psychological availability (PSYA)] on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded on Kahn’s personal engagement theory, a model has been developed with WPS as an independent variable, individual’s psychological conditions (PSYM, PSYS and PSYA) as the mediators and individual’s WE as the dependent variable. Based on the online responses from 510 millennial employees working in Fortune 500 manufacturing and service industries operating in India, analysis has been undertaken using confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation and PROCESS macro of Hayes (2017).
Findings
WPS has been noted to influence individual’s WE positively and there is a partial mediation of PSYM, PSYS and PSYA on this relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is able to extend the scope of Kahn’s personal engagement theory.
Practical implications
Leaders and HR administrators can use the framework to ensure positive engagement levels for the millennial workforce. It will also help to reduce job dissatisfaction and burnouts at the workplace.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to understanding WE through the lens of WPS. It adds to the existing knowledge by explaining the mediation of the psychological conditions between spirituality and WE among millennials working in India. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study can be considered one of the first studies that has attempted to understand the role of WPS and psychological conditions on WE levels of millennials.
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Richard Amoatey, Richard K. Ayisi and Eric Osei-Assibey
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to estimate an optimal inflation rate for Ghana and second, to investigate factors that account for the differences between observed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to estimate an optimal inflation rate for Ghana and second, to investigate factors that account for the differences between observed and target inflation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explored the questions within two econometric frameworks, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Threshold Regression Models using data spanning the period 1965–2019.
Findings
The study estimated a range of 5–7% optimal inflation for Ghana. While this confirms the single-digit inflation targeting by the Bank of Ghana, the range is lower than the central bank's band of 6–10%. The combined behaviours of the central bank, banks and external outlook influence inflation target misses.
Practical implications
The study urges the central bank to continue pursuing its single-digit inflation targeting. However, it implies that there is still room for the Bank to further lower the current inflation band to achieve an optimal outcome on growth and welfare. Again, the Bank should commit to increased transparency and accountability to enhance its credibility in attaining the targeted inflation.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first attempts in Africa in Ghana to estimate an optimal inflation target and investigate the underlying factors for deviation from the targets.
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Daniel Schiffman and Eli Goldstein
The American agricultural economist Marion Clawson advised the Israeli government during 1953–1955. Clawson, a protégé of John D. Black and Mordecai Ezekiel, criticized the…
Abstract
The American agricultural economist Marion Clawson advised the Israeli government during 1953–1955. Clawson, a protégé of John D. Black and Mordecai Ezekiel, criticized the government for ignoring economic considerations, and stated that Israel’s national goals – defense, Negev Desert irrigation, immigrant absorption via new agricultural settlements, and economic independence – were mutually contradictory. His major recommendations were to improve the realism of Israel’s agricultural plan; end expensive Negev irrigation; enlarge irrigated farms eightfold; freeze new settlements until the number of semi-developed settlements falls from 300 to 100; and limit new Negev settlements to 10 over 5–7 years. Thus, Clawson ignored political feasibility and made value judgments. Minister of Finance Levi Eshkol and Minister of Agriculture Peretz Naphtali rejected Clawson’s recommendations because they ignored Israel’s national goals. By September 1954, Clawson shifted towards greater pragmatism: He acknowledged that foreign advisors should not question the national goals or make value judgments, and sought common ground with the Ministry of Agriculture. At his initiative, he wrote Israel Agriculture 1953/54 in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. Israel Agriculture was a consensus document: Clawson eschewed recommendations and accepted that the government might prioritize non-economic goals. In proposing Israel Agriculture, Clawson made a pragmatic decision to relinquish some independence for (potentially) greater influence. Ultimately, Clawson was largely unsuccessful as an advisor. Clawson’s failure was part of a general pattern: Over 1950–1985, the Israeli government always rejected foreign advisors’ recommendations unless it was facing a severe crisis.
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William McColloch and Matías Vernengo
The rise of the regulatory state during the Gilded Age was closely associated with the development of institutionalist ideas in American academia. In their analysis of the…
Abstract
The rise of the regulatory state during the Gilded Age was closely associated with the development of institutionalist ideas in American academia. In their analysis of the emergent regulatory environment, institutionalists like John Commons operated with a fundamentally marginalist theory of value and distribution. This engagement is a central explanation for the ultimate ascendancy of neoclassical economics, and the limitations of the regulatory environment that emerged in the Progressive Era. The eventual rise of the Chicago School and its deregulatory ambitions did constitute a rupture, but one achieved without rejecting preceding conceptions of competition and value. The substantial compatibility of the view of markets underlying both the regulatory and deregulatory periods is stressed, casting doubt about the transformative potential of the resurgent regulatory impulse in the New Gilded Age.
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Here we consider the various ways in which airlines integrate their business activities. The thin markets, long distances, poor infrastructure, and challenging terrain over which…
Abstract
Here we consider the various ways in which airlines integrate their business activities. The thin markets, long distances, poor infrastructure, and challenging terrain over which many airlines based in developing countries operate can make it difficult to reap the economies of scale, scope, and density that carriers in more developed nations enjoy. There also remain institutional barriers to cross border trade in airline services. As a response to this, airlines from developing regions “cooperate” in a number of ways. This may involve multinational ownership, code sharing, or joint ventures. The rationale for these actions, together with discussion of the outcomes of some of them, is considered here.
Sinyati Ndiango, Neema P. Kumburu and Richard Jaffu
This study aims to examine the influence of research self-efficacy (RSE) on academics' research productivity (RPR) in public higher education institutions in Tanzania.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the influence of research self-efficacy (RSE) on academics' research productivity (RPR) in public higher education institutions in Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design was utilized to collect and analyze data from 247 academics in four public higher education institutions in Tanzania.
Findings
The findings show that RSE has a positive and significant influence on academics' RPR in higher education (ß = 0.657 and p < 0.001).
Practical implications
Higher education institutions should focus on creating a favorable work environment that fosters academics' RSE so as to enhance more productivity in terms of research.
Originality/value
The results of this study expand the aspects in which social cognitive theory can be applied in Tanzania's higher education institutions. On the other hand, by conducting empirical-based research on the influence of RSE on RPR in developing nations like Tanzania, the findings contribute to the literature on RSE and RPR.
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Iftekhar Ahmed and Tanjina Khan
Fresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial…
Abstract
Purpose
Fresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial architecture in the region in general often imposed imported European elements, ignoring the preceding legacies of the Sultanate and the Mughals. The critical challenge was to find a balance between the prevailing high modernism in architecture and the local vernacular and climatic forces. The Pakistani government invited international architects to fill the gap left by a non-existent local architectural industry. Unfortunately, their work has rarely been properly analyzed. With selected case studies, this paper analyzes their work in an attempt to explore their contribution to creating a national architectural identity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a case study approach with selected architectural projects from the period. It uses research tools such as systematic analysis of drawings, volumes and photographs and archival research.
Findings
The international architects took inspiration from the strong vernacular and climatic forces of the region. The resultant expressions of the two-decade-long search in their combined body of work are some of the finest examples of vernacular and climate-responsive architecture in the region. They transcended the regular international style and became context-specific and unique. The quest for East Pakistan's post-colonial architectural identity was partially met by the newly found identity through vernacular and climate-responsive adaptation in architecture.
Originality/value
This study explores how a unified vernacular and climate-responsive adaptations potentially shaped the post-colonial architectural identity of the region. No prior study exists on this issue for the time period.
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