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11 – 20 of over 6000Md Moazzem Hossain, Manzurul Alam, Mohammed Alamgir and Amirus Salat
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between skills and employability of business graduates. The study also examines the moderating effect of ‘social mobility…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between skills and employability of business graduates. The study also examines the moderating effect of ‘social mobility factors’ in the ‘skills–employability’ relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative positivist approach was undertaken to test the hypotheses. Business graduates from two universities in a developing country responded to a questionnaire about their perceptions of different sets of employability factors. Partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine the relationships between skills and employability of business graduates.
Findings
The findings show that both soft skills and technical skills are positively related to employability, which is consistent with prior studies. The findings also indicate that social mobility factors play a significant role in employability.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on data from two public universities, and its findings need to be interpreted with care as universities differ in their size, area of concentration and ownership structure.
Practical implications
The findings advance the evidence of graduate employability of business students. Based on these results, university authorities, policymakers, teachers and business graduates will benefit from the findings related to students preparedness for the competitive global job market.
Originality/value
The study's findings contribute to business graduates' skill set development in the developing countries that share a similar education system, culture and values.
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This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their career.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative data gathered using in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken with 30 women working in Saudi public organisations.
Findings
This study's findings shows that the hierarchical relationships between women and their woman manager are complex due to a multifaceted web of contextual factors including sociocultural values, family values, religious beliefs and organisational cultures and structures. These factors shape the quality of relationships between senior women and their women subordinates. Also, this study reveals that there is solidarity and ‘sisterly’ relationship between women in the workplace that plays a role in facilitating women's career development and advancement. In addition, this study shows that despite senior women's having supported other women's career advancement, this support tended to be conditional and limited. This can have an influence on women-to-women work relationships, where such relationships can be described as being disconnected and fragile. Furthermore, the study depict that there is evidence of the existence of ‘Queen Bee’-like senior women who distance themselves from other women and block their career advancement. The Queen Bee phenomena can actually become a form of hierarchy that mimics the patriarchal structure and excludes women from serving at top management levels.
Originality/value
This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the hierarchical relationships between women in the workplace and how these relationships have an influence on women's career advancement. Therefore, the paper makes a valuable contribution to the scarce knowledge that currently exists within the field of management research in relation to women's career development – and the advancement of such research within the Arab Middle Eastern context. Also, the findings of this study could potentially inform practitioners and HR department personnel within organisations about the connections between women's hierarchical workplace relationships and women's career development and advancement.
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Madhavi Prashant Patil and Ombretta Romice
In urban studies, understanding how individuals perceive density is a complex challenge due to the subjective nature of this perception, which is influenced by sociocultural…
Abstract
Purpose
In urban studies, understanding how individuals perceive density is a complex challenge due to the subjective nature of this perception, which is influenced by sociocultural, personal and environmental factors. This study addresses these complexities by proposing a systematic framework for comprehending how people perceive density within urban contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology for developing the framework involved a systematic review of existing literature on the perception of density and related concepts, followed by integrating insights from empirical investigations. The framework designed through this process overcomes the limitations identified in previous research and provides a comprehensive guide for studying perceived density in urban environments.
Findings
The successful application of the framework on case studies in Glasgow and international settings enabled the identification of 20 critical spatial factors (buildings, public realm and urban massing) influencing density perception. The research provided insights into the subjective nature of density perception and the impact that spatial characters of urban form play, demonstrating the framework's effectiveness in understanding the impact of urban form, which is the realm of design and planning professions, on individual experiences.
Originality/value
The paper's originality lies in its comprehensive synthesis of the existing knowledge on the perception of density, the development of a user-responsive framework adaptable to future research and its application in case studies of different natures to identify recurrent links between urban form and user-specific constructs.
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Jennet Achyldurdyyeva, Li-Fan Wu and Nurbibi Datova
The purpose of this study is to examine the aspects of workplace environment and the experiences of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees in an Asian context; a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the aspects of workplace environment and the experiences of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees in an Asian context; a subject that has hitherto been somewhat neglected. It responds to a call for more contextual research in the field of employment diversity in organizational management in general.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a mixed method study, which utilizes multiple sources of primary and secondary data and consists of in-depth personal interviews, a survey of LGBT employees, published data (including legislation and state policies), reports issued by social and media organizations, documentary evidence from Taiwanese companies and insights drawn from the existing literature.
Findings
It was found that there is an interplay between the macro, meso and micro levels in the multilevel relational framework applied to diversity of employment in Taiwan. Macrolevel factors, such as supportive legislation, mass media and social tolerance toward LGBT community positively affect mesolevel factors, such as stable and secure social networks among the LGBT community in the form of legal and social organizations (NGOs, social media, bars, restaurants, etc.) as well as many companies inclusion of sexual orientation in their definitions of diversity. However, this is opposed by macrolevel, cultural values related to family structure and intergenerational relationships that inhibit pro-active integration and equality of LGBT individuals at the meso organizational level. Companies headed by older-generation leadership can be slow to advocate, support and promote sexual-orientation diversity in their workplaces. In contrast, microlevel data shows that LGBT employees receive robust psychological support from their peer group, friends and the LGBT community, although gaining acceptance by family and coworkers remains a challenge.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies need to focus on the dynamics of the meso- and microlevel factors by investigating how organizational structure, perspectives of leaders and HR managers, diversity management practices and attitudes and behaviors of LGBT employees and other coworkers affect development and integration of sexual-orientation diversity programs within organizations.
Practical implications
Managers, policy makers in organization as well as educators benefit from the context-sensitive findings and recommendations offered in this paper.
Social implications
Understanding of LGBT individuals employment environment helps to facilitate or hinder the positive development of equal society and benefit both LGBT employees, their coworkers and managers.
Originality/value
Limited research exists on the LGBT employees experiences at work in Asia. This study makes unique contribution to the understanding of sexual orientation category of diversity at work in Taiwan context.
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Yatish Joshi and Zillur Rahman
– The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that predict green purchase behaviour of young educated consumers in Delhi.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that predict green purchase behaviour of young educated consumers in Delhi.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was carried out on a sample of 1,502 young educated consumers. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the predictive power of considered variables towards green purchasing.
Findings
Results indicate that the variables under study predicted green purchase behaviour of young educated consumers of Delhi in the following descending order: social influence, attitude towards green purchase, perceived environmental knowledge, recycling participation, ecolabelling and exposure to environmental messages through the media.
Research limitations/implications
The sample considered in the study was restricted to Delhi only. Further, the predictive power of only a few variables was examined.
Practical implications
The paper identifies key predictors of consumers’ green purchase behaviour, enabling practitioners to understand which factors influence young educated consumers in their decision making regarding green purchases. This knowledge will help marketing managers design effective strategies to encourage green purchase behaviour among such consumers.
Social implications
Policy makers and government organizations may use the findings of this study to run awareness campaigns for disseminating information and promoting green purchase behaviour among larger sections of society. Such initiatives may help in minimizing the negative consequences of irresponsible consumption practices on environment and society.
Originality/value
The present study is the first which applies reciprocal deterministic theory to predict green purchase behaviour of educated young consumers in India. Moreover, this is the first study to investigate the influence of consumers’ exposure to environmental messages through the media on their green purchase behaviour.
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Aaesha Ahmed AlMehrzi, Syed Awais Tipu and Abu Elias Sarker
This paper aims to provide a systematic review of the academic literature on the determinants, processes and impacts of indigenous entrepreneurship (IE), highlights its…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a systematic review of the academic literature on the determinants, processes and impacts of indigenous entrepreneurship (IE), highlights its contribution to current knowledge and identifies research gaps to guide future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Databases used in this study included Scopus, ABI, Business Source Complete, ProQuest and Emerald Insight. In total, 84 articles were included in the review.
Findings
The findings revealed that 33 studies were qualitative, 12 used a survey-based approach, 25 were conceptual and 14 used mixed approaches. The focus on theory-building research underlines the fact that more theory-testing research is needed in the future. In total, 38 studies were conducted in developed countries and 43 in developing countries. The findings indicated that IE was driven by many determinants such as family and clan ties, patriarchy and social stratification, government support and conducive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Processes related to policies, IE development programs, partnerships, expenditure mechanisms, equitable distribution of benefits and resource mobilization. The outcomes of IE included economic development, sustainability, increased indigenous economic participation, enhanced quality of life, self-determination and preserving cultural heritage.
Research limitations/implications
The current paper has some limitations. Firstly, it focuses only on academic journals and excludes conferences, books and working papers. Secondly, it includes only English language academic articles. However, while the current systematic literature review (SLR) has these limitations, it presents a thorough view of the determinants, processes and impacts of IE. Future studies may consider other sources beyond academic journals and also include non-English publications, and this approach may identify interesting areas for future research.
Originality/value
Existing reviews of IE take a narrow perspective and fail to present a comprehensive view of the IE phenomenon. The current study aims to fill this gap in the literature and provides a SLR pertaining to IE’s determinants, processes and impacts. The review is both timely and relevant because it identifies gaps and serves as a springboard to guide future research.
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Purpose: The paper makes use of Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” to explain Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) as a normal scientific tradition. The paper intends to…
Abstract
Purpose: The paper makes use of Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” to explain Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) as a normal scientific tradition. The paper intends to show how a previously marginalized research tradition has now started solidifying its paradigmatic boundaries, and what implications this holds for aspiring CCT scholars.
Method/approach: The paper makes use of literature from the Journal of Consumer Research and Marketing Theory to point out the methodological and practical issues in the discipline that have been pointed out by CCT proponents. These criticisms are discussed as scientific “anomalies.” Furthermore, the paper critically analyzes immigrant acculturation literature produced by CCT researchers in the past 30 years through a Kuhnian lens to show proponents of the fields implicitly addressing different “anomalies,” explaining the tradition to be a normal scientific one.
Findings: An in-depth analysis of immigrant acculturation literature within CCT shows every successive project within the field has addressed “anomalies” by pointing out research gaps, providing a rationale for their respective methodology, and, in turn, adding precision to theoretical frameworks, depicting a normal scientific tradition.
Originality and value: The paper adds value by discussing the probable consequences of this boundary solidification. On one hand, aspiring scholars will have scientific assumptions with which to enter the laboratory (consumer world) and guidelines that can be used toward publishing. On the other, this can also lead to a possible dogmatization of an emerging consumer research paradigm, making it difficult for new scholars to be creative.
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Change orders in construction projects may lead to an increase in time and cost highlighting the need for a systematic analysis of the causes of change orders. Each cause of…
Abstract
Purpose
Change orders in construction projects may lead to an increase in time and cost highlighting the need for a systematic analysis of the causes of change orders. Each cause of change orders has a probability of occurrence and impact; therefore, there is a need to reassess the causes of change orders based on the probability and impact. The purpose of this paper is to determine the risk score for each factor and develop a model for estimating the overall change orders based on the measured and latent variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology consists of four parts. The first part identifies the causes of change orders in road projects from a literature review and develops the final list using the Delphi technique. The second part includes designing the final questionnaire to determine the probability and impact of each factor on the five-point Likert scale and 237 questionnaires received validity. The data were divided into training and testing sets and analyzed using AMOS software.
Findings
The proposed structural equation model presents an insight into the influence of measured and latent factors, which are not obvious in the traditional equations. The main cause for change orders was a change in design.
Originality/value
The results of this research are expected to improve the execution of road projects by identifying the main causes of the change orders and hence the project manager can develop a proper risk response plan.
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Yi Wang, Xiaopeng Deng and Hongtao Mao
This paper aims to explore the key risk factors affecting the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects under the major public emergencies…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the key risk factors affecting the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects under the major public emergencies represented by the novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic (hereinafter COVID-19) and how the public emergency affected the Personnel Localization Management from three levels: staff turnover rate, the number of different personnel, the salary and performance of workers. The paper also helps to enhance the construction enterprises' response capacity of major public emergencies and provides a comprehensive framework of optimization strategies for the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects (hereinafter projects).
Design/methodology/approach
The main research method of this paper is the case study, and ten representative international construction projects are selected for case study in China construction enterprises (hereinafter CCE). And this study used the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and comparative analysis to find out all potential risk factors under the COVID-19 and analyze how the epidemic affects the Personnel Localization Management of projects which based on the primary data from 10 projects obtained through in-depth interviews and the secondary data from China First Metallurgical Group and Central South Construction Group's Overseas Enterprise.
Findings
The findings show that the outbreak of the major public emergencies not only greatly increased eight risk factors but also directly led to an increase in staff turnover rate. Meanwhile, the numbers of Chinese and local managers and workers are all affected, and an increase in the number and the salary performance of local workers can be reduced, to a certain extent, to the cost-to-output ratio of the projects. The findings would help construction enterprises better cope with Personnel Localization Management and enhance the response capacity of major public emergencies.
Research limitations/implications
This study will broaden researchers' horizons regarding “Personnel Localization Management under major public emergencies” and “risk factors of Personnel Localization Management in an international context.” Furthermore, construction enterprises looking for a better mechanism of Personnel Localization Management can benefit from research findings and lessons learned from the authors' case study during or before an outbreak of major public emergency. Lastly, the framework of optimization strategies for Personnel Localization Management can be used both for research purposes and practice issues in international construction projects.
Practical implications
The findings from the authors' case study offer the direction for international construction enterprises in China and other countries to formulate effective measures, strengthen overseas business and establish a crisis management mechanism for Personnel Localization Management under major public emergencies, and the findings provide emergency plans for projects to improve the public crisis handling capacity and respond to major public emergencies such as the COVID-19.
Social implications
This study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 on the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects from the perspective of personnel. This study provides a theoretical reference for the international construction industry to actively respond to major public emergencies. Besides, the research is conducive to improving the emergency response mechanism in the construction industry, and further promoting the high-quality and globalized development of international construction.
Originality/value
This study provides other researchers with a comprehensive understanding of the risk factors affecting the Personnel Localization Management of projects under the COVID-19 and insight for further research on localization management, risk management, and project management.
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