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The purpose of this study is to compare two different types of measures of social desirability bias (SDB), a short form of the Marlowe–Crowne measure, a popular direct measure, and an example of a projective technique where half of the respondents record the views of their “best friends”.

The data were collected using an online survey of members of a consumer panel. The context chosen to test the SDB measures was that of attitudes toward counterfeit products and xenocentrism in Colombia. Counterfeit proneness, attitude toward counterfeit products and consumer xenocentrism were selected as variables likely to be affected by SDB. Vertical and horizontal collectivism were included as variables likely to influence the first group of variables while not being themselves subject to SDB.

The projective technique consistently identified higher levels of SDB effects, as hypothesized. Marked differences emerged in the apparent strength of the relationships between the operational constructs depending upon which measure of SDB was used. At times, whether any such relationship might exist depended on the SDB measure used. Contrary to some prior work, no systematic gender effects were identified using either approach.

The first study to provide evidence of the comparative effects of different types of measures of SDB in research into ethical issues. One of the few to demonstrate how apparent relationships between variables can be created by SDB.

The current study is aimed at identifying the prominent influencers that affect the response behaviour of patients in a hospital environment.

The research is based on the data collected through the participant observation method while interviewing patients about the quality of healthcare services in nine community health centres of the Kashmir division. Thematic analysis was performed on the information collected from patients admitted to various hospital sections.

The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the presence of hospital staff near respondents, perceived risk of maltreatment, social desirability, the sensitivity of the topic, risk of information sharing and attitude towards surveys are the most frequently observed factors that modulate the patient's tendency to truthfully report critical facts about the problem understudy.

These results can help researchers to exercise caution while communicating with respondents and collecting data related to serious issues in a natural setting.

National surveys reveal that sports fans exhibit greater support for athletes, sports teams and leagues endorsing social justice initiatives compared to the general population, highlighting the potential of sports for positive social impact. This study investigates whether such responses are influenced by systematic biases.

Replicating a Nielsen national survey, two experiments explore whether biases affect support for athletes' participation in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The study also examines partisan motivated reasoning as a factor driving sports fans' support for BLM.

While avid fans display stronger endorsement of BLM compared to causal/non-sports fans, evidence suggests that systematic biases distort these responses. When sport identity becomes salient, reported support for the BLM movement becomes inflated.

Researchers often employ self-report surveys to gauge audience perceptions of athlete activism or cause-related initiatives, particularly when assessing their impact. This study's findings indicate that this context is susceptible to SDB.

The study underscores the role of systematic biases in self-report surveys, particularly in socially desirable contexts. People tend to over-report “positive behavior,” leading survey participants to respond more favorably to questions that are socially desirable. Therefore, interpreting survey results with caution becomes essential when the research context is deemed socially (un)desirable. It is crucial for researchers to apply appropriate measures to identify and mitigate systematic response biases. The authors recommend that researchers adopt both procedural and statistical remedies to detect and reduce social desirability biases.

The purpose of this empirical study is to enable a better understanding of the construct sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) and thereby promote sustainable entrepreneurship. It aims to examine the significance of work values (extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards and job security) as antecedents of SEI and to test the mediating effect of three constructs derived from the theory of planned behaviour – attitude towards sustainability, perceived entrepreneurial desirability and perceived entrepreneurial feasibility on the relationships between work values and SEI.

Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed using analysis of moment structures v27 and statistical package for social science v28 on data obtained from the survey of young individuals of India. The respondents were students enrolled in higher education programmes.

All the identified antecedents (extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards, job security and theory of planned behaviour constructs) were found to be statistically significant. The partial mediating effect of the theory of planned behaviour constructs was also reported.

This empirical work leads to the theoretical advancement of the emerging construct, SEI, by presenting evidence of the significant individual-level antecedents of the construct. The results lead to recommendations for policymakers and educators to design strategies to strengthen SEI, thereby expanding the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurship.

This research aimed to assess the leadership role of principals in the implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa.

This study employed qualitative research approach to assess the leadership role of principals in the implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data were gathered from a small sample of six principals from six selected secondary schools which were engaged in the implementation of a peace education programme, and data were analysed using thematic content analyses.

Findings of the study suggest that principals possess a low level of understanding or awareness of their leadership role in the implementation of peace education. The study pointed out the constraints such as time constraints and learners' negative attitudes and social influences hinder the effective implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools.

First, the data were self-reported and therefore subject to social desirability bias; participants may have provided socially desirable responses rather than their true belief or experiences. Thus, participants may have overstated their role in and commitment to the peace education programme.

Studies that aim to explore alternative approaches to combat violence, such as peace education, are still limited in South Africa. Hence, this paper served to close that gap by contributing to the growing body of research on the leadership role of the principal in the implementation of peace education in the school and exploring barriers hampering its effective implementation.

This study aims to examine the moderating role of formalization in the relationship between human resources (HR) practices and work engagement (WE) in aviation industry employees. The research revealed the moderator role of formalization, which is still one of the most critical components for aviation industry workers.

In the study, the authors used the survey method. In this explanatory and cross-sectional study, the authors examined a data set collected from aviation industry employees (n = 226) in Turkey using the partial least squares (PLS) method and tried to moderate the formalization. The authors analyzed the moderator role of formalization in the relationship between HR practices and WE with SmartPLS 3.0 and HAYES Process Macro.

The results of the study explain the effect of HR practices on WE in the context of social exchange theory through formalization. Findings show that formalization is an essential factor in HR practices’ resulting in higher WE.

The study is cross-sectional. Research participants participated in the study voluntarily. This situation, in turn, may lead to a social desirability bias in participants' self-reported responses. To avoid this, the authors have prepared a standardized measurement tool. Again, since the authors do not request the names and institutions of the participants, confidentiality and anonymity are provided.

Research findings offer implications for companies and employees in developing economies, especially in the aviation sector. It refers to the necessity for companies aiming for a sustainable strategic position in the competitive aviation sector to attach importance to HR practices that will enable them to see their employees as a competitive advantage. In addition, the results emphasize the need for aviation industry companies to adopt an approach that considers both practices that can increase WE and formalization procedures that can affect employee behavior.

This research provides a comprehensive understanding to examine the interrelationships between HR, formalization and WE in the context of the mechanism of social change in the context of aviation industry workers. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other researcher has holistically addressed these links in general, particularly in a developing country. The findings significantly enrich the literature on HR practices and WE, particularly in the context of a developing country.

This study investigates theoretical relationships among personality characteristics, preferences for different types of rewards and the propensity to choose a job in auditing by management-related higher education students. Specifically, the authors consider motivation, locus of control (internal and external) and self-efficacy (SE) as personality characteristics and financial, extrinsic, support and intrinsic as types of rewards.

Data were collected through a questionnaire targeted at management-related higher education students in Portugal. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

The full sample results show that different types of motivation, locus of control and SE are related to different reward preferences. The authors also find a positive association between a preference for extrinsic rewards and the propensity to choose a job in auditing. Moreover, when the authors consider the role of working experience in the model, the authors find that the reward preferences that drive the choice of an auditing job differ according to that experience.

This study enriches the literature by assessing preferences for different types of rewards, considering multiple personality characteristics and a comprehensive set of rewards. Furthermore, the authors identify the reward preferences that drive the choice of an auditing career. This knowledge empowers auditing firms to devise recruitment strategies that resonate with candidates’ preferences, which boosts the capacity of these companies to attract new auditors.

This paper aims to determine the demand category and level of government and investors in public–private partnership (PPP) projects. It emphasizes the importance of meeting the demands of stakeholders and controlling the unreasonable demands. This study aims to improve the demand management of stakeholders in the PPP project and lay a foundation for the research on behavior based on the motivation theory.

This paper opted for a questionnaire survey to collect data based on indicators identified through literature. The participants come from the government and private sector (investors, contractors, operators, etc.) in China PPP Lecture Hall. The reliability, validity and variance analyses are used to test the reliability of data. Factor analysis and entropy method are used to determine demand categories and weights.

The government’s 14 demands are divided into four groups: satisfy public activities, self-interest, responsibility and relief financial pressure; 6 investor's demands are divided into development ability and satisfy social activities. The self-interest of government is higher than that of the publicity in PPP projects; investor's social reputation is most important, it is a foundation for obtaining external resources and achieving enterprise development.

Because of the chosen research approach, the demand indexes cannot be exhausted. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to enrich relevant contents further.

This paper includes implications for a targeted demand control mechanism and for managing the unreasonable demand.

This paper comprehensively identifies the demand hierarchy of the government and investors, and provides the theoretical basis for the target management of stakeholders.

Corporations are confronted with growing demands to take a stand on socio-political issues, i.e. corporate social advocacy (CSA), which affects their reputation in the public. Companies use different CSA message strategies, including calling the public to support and act on the issue they advocate. Using reactance theory, the authors investigate the impact of CSA messages with a call to action on corporate reputation in the case of a company's gender equality initiative.

A one-factorial (CSA message with or without a call to action) between-subjects experiment was conducted by surveying 172 individuals living in Switzerland. The CSA messages were created in the context of gender equality.

The authors' study indicates that CSA messages with a call to action compared to those without overall harmed corporate reputation due to individuals' reactance, which is higher for CSA messages with a call to action, negatively affecting corporate reputation. The impact of the CSA message strategy with a call to action on corporate reputation remains significant after controlling for issue alignment and political leaning.

Communicating about socio-political issues, especially taking a stand, is a significant challenge for corporations in an increasingly polarized society and has often led to backlash, boycotts and damage to corporate reputation. This study shows that the possible adverse effects of advocating for socio-political issues can be related to reactance. It emphasizes that companies advocating for contested issues must be more cautious about the message strategy than the issue itself.

Plastic pollution is a major issue that plagues modern society. Scholars are interested in comprehending consumers’ behavioural actions to address plastic pollution. This study aims to delve into the determinants of consumers’ engagement with social media as a medium to address plastic pollution.

A conceptual model is developed that extends the behavioural reasoning theory (BRT). Using a quantitative approach, 476 responses underwent structural equation modelling analysis.

Results indicate that “reasons for” positively correlate with attitude and intention towards socially responsible engagement. Contrarily, “Reasons against” demonstrated a positive association with socially responsible engagement intention. Attitudes favouring socially responsible engagement correlate positively with the underlying intention. The moderation analysis underscores the positive relation of social return on social media with consumers’ attitude and their “reasons for” leaning towards socially responsible engagement intention. Notably, a positive connection was established between socially responsible engagement intention and the trifecta of consumption, contribution and content creation behaviours.

By enhancing the BRT, this research sheds light on novel perspectives regarding consumers’ engagement on social media platforms. Distinctively, it is among the handful of studies probing the influence of behavioural intention across diverse behavioural outcomes. The insights gained from this study, grounded in empirical evidence from an emerging market, are poised to guide policymakers, governmental agencies and industry practitioners in formulating effective strategies to combat plastic pollution. Additionally, the study can assist in achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically SGD 12, SGD 13, SDG 14 and SGD 17.