Search results

Firms embedded in networks of relations are theorized through Gnyawali and Madhavan’s (2001) (G&M) structural embeddedness model to gain competitive advantage from topological characteristics. Empirical studies to support their theory have never been executed in full. Our study provided a full empirical test of their model in a digital trading network to achieve a higher degree of certainty that those network structural characteristics can have a major impact on the degree to which certain firms lead to competitiveness in a digital trading network environment.

To examine how firms respond in competitive situations, we chose the hyper-active digital trading network, eBay as our empirical context. We used eBay auction data to analyze how the network characteristics of eBay resellers impact their competitive behaviors.

Our study found strong support for the G&M model of competitiveness. We offer explanations for where support was not as strong as the Gynawali and Madavan theory proposes.

Our research is limited by our chosen context and findings in support of part of G&M model. Future studies in other digital contexts are needed to enhance the modeling of network topologies and further study the impacts of network density and structural autonomy on competitive action.

Our study suggests that managers proceed cautiously in forming partnerships, weighing circumstances where the firm can find itself with increased information power and avoiding, to the greatest extent possible, situations where the playing field is roughly equal.

Theory-making in this domain has begun as well as initial empirical testing. Much more needs to be accomplished, though, before embeddedness modeling can be thought of as being well established.

The G& M Model of competitiveness is an SNA explanation of why some competitive units succeed and others do not. Our study is the first, full blown empirical analysis of the theory.

This study assesses the factors influencing customers’ intention to adopt e-banking in the context of the technology acceptance model and the moderation role of cybercrime.

The variables in the study are measured using a five-point Likert scale with measures adopted from existing literature. The independent variables are perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and security and privacy. These are postulated to be moderated by the perceived risk of cybercrime and to influence e-banking adoption intentions. A quantitative approach is used. Primary data are collected from a sample of 209 randomly selected bank customers. The study uses a two-step (measurement model and structural model) approach to data analysis.

The key findings in this study are that perceived risk of cybercrime strengthens the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and e-banking adoption intentions but dampens or weakens the positive relationship between perceived usefulness and customers’ e-banking adoption intentions. The study makes several recommendations to inform scholarship, policy and practice.

Unlike existing literature, the study makes a unique contribution by including perceived risk of cybercrime as a moderating variable of theoretical significance in the relationship between adoption of e-banking and its determinants.

Supply chains need to be made viable in this volatile and competitive market, which could be possible through digitalization. This study is an attempt to explore the role of Industry 4.0, smart supply chain, supply chain agility and supply chain resilience on sustainable business performance from the lens of natural resource-based view.

The study tests the proposed model using a covariance-based structural equation modelling and further investigates the ranking of each construct using the artificial neural networks approach in AMOS and SPSS respectively. A total of 234 respondents selected using purposive sampling aided in capturing the industry practices across supply chains in the UK. The full collinearity test was carried out to study the common method bias and the content validity was carried out using the item content validity index and scale content validity index. The convergent and discriminant validity of the constructs and mediation study was carried out in SPSS and AMOS V.23.

The results are overtly inferring the significant impact of Industry 4.0 practices on creating smart and ultimately sustainable supply chains. A partial relationship is established between Industry 4.0 and supply chain agility through a smart supply chain. This work empirically reinstates the combined significance of green practices, Industry 4.0, smart supply chain, supply chain agility and supply chain resilience on sustainable business value. The study also uses the ANN approach to determine the relative importance of each significant variable found in SEM analysis. ANN determines the ranking among the significant variables, i.e. supply chain resilience > green practices > Industry 4.0> smart supply chain > supply chain agility presented in descending order.

This study is a novel attempt to establish the role of digitalization in SCs for attaining sustainable business value, providing empirical support to the mediating role of supply chain agility, supply chain resilience and smart supply chain and manifests a significant integrated framework. This work reinforces the integrated model that combines all the constructs dealt with in silos so far in prior literature.

This paper aims to propose and test a corporate entrepreneurship strategy (CES) model in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international activity located in Andalusia (Spain) – a peripheral region with high levels of inequality in the European Union (EU).

A quantitative analysis has been carried out with data from 101 SMEs to contrast and analyze the proposed CES model. The sample data were obtained through questionnaire-guided interviews with chief executive officers. Data processing has been done using partial least squares-path modeling, a variance-based technique for structural equation modeling.

The results of this study show the positive effect of environmental conditions on the development of CES actions in Andalusian SMEs (Spain) and the positive influence of CES on the results of SMEs’ international activity. In turn, environmental conditions do not directly affect the international activity.

Although previous works address the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and international enterprise activity, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is original in testing a CES model (including CE and the entrepreneurial strategic vision) in SMEs in a region that has one of the lowest levels of development in the EU. The results have important implications for SMEs and policymakers and could be extrapolated to other emerging economies.

This study aims to examine the relationship between internal and external factors and job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and auditors’ performance.

This research used deductive approach. Data was gathered from 83 auditors in the Saudi Organisation for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) database. By implementing the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique, the suggested hypotheses were examined.

The results show that internal factors, i.e., achievement, advancement, recognition and growth, significantly impact job satisfaction. Subsequently, the external factors, i.e., company policies, relationship with a peer and relationship with supervisor, significantly impact job satisfaction. In contrast, work security has no relationship with job satisfaction. Furthermore, job satisfaction is a significant driver for auditors' performance.

This research sheds light on the relationships between internal and external factors, job satisfaction and auditors' performance in the Saudi context. It would be interesting to investigate these relationships in a different setting, such as a different country, time or industry. Future studies should broaden the sample frame to include different types of employees to obtain more generalisable results.

This study may help managers of auditing departments formulate appropriate strategies and design effective programs to increase the level of job satisfaction between auditors by enhancing such factors, which will lead to improving the auditors' performance.

This research provide an empirical evidence to support the theoretical assumptions of Herzberg's which is much needed.

Online food delivery applications (OFDAs) provide an expedient platform, and consumers’ access to food has been drastically altered, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to completely explore the attributes that influence consumers' purchase intention and how an app's aesthetics can evoke feelings that predict continuous usage intentions for OFDAs. The food industry, especially restaurants, heavily relies on mobile technology to facilitate critical online food delivery during the pandemic crisis.

The data for this study are gathered from 477 food consumers located in the federal capital territory (FCT) of Islamabad, Pakistan, through convenient sampling by developing a self-administrated online survey. SmartPLS is used for structural equation modeling to test the proposed research model and perform bootstrapping and algorithmic analysis.

Our findings revealed that perceived value positively predicted consumers’ purchase intentions. Moreover, perceived value mediates the association of information quality, familiarity, time-saving, usability and reputation with purchase intentions and fear of COVID-19 moderates the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention.

This research work has significant implications for researchers, web developers, app designers, delivery services, restaurants and other enterprises as it demonstrates the importance of aesthetically pleasing OFDAs in eliciting positive emotions and bolstering consumers’ intentions to continue using the app for efficient food delivery services.

This study expanded the application of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and attention, interest, desire and action (AIDA) by examining consumers’ purchase intentions in the context of OFDAs. Further, the successful utilization of TAM enhanced the understanding of consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions about the usage of OFDAs.

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine the effects of servant leadership and despotic leadership on employees’ happiness at work (HAW) through job crafting.

To test the hypothesized relationships, the data were collected from 309 Pakistani employees. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The findings showed that servant leadership is an optimal leadership style for creating employees’ HAW. In addition, job crafting was found to mediate the effects of servant leadership on employees’ broad-based positive attitudinal outcome (HAW). Moreover, results showed that despotic leadership negatively influences employees’ HAW through job crafting.

This study is novel as it investigates how newer forms of positive (servant) and negative (despotic) leadership styles influence employees’ multidimensional attitudinal outcome (HAW) via job crafting. By doing so, this research extends the nomological network of servant leadership, despotic leadership, job crafting and HAW.

This study investigates the factors influencing citizen attitudes toward e-government services and their effects on the adoption of e-government services in Saudi Arabia. It sheds light on the moderating role of citizen motivation in the relationship between factors influencing citizen attitudes in favor of e-government services and their adoption and usage behavior in the Saudi Arabian context. The study analyzes both the drivers propelling the uptake and the barriers impeding it.

A descriptive research design was employed in this study, which surveyed 487 respondents from Jeddah and Madina cities and the surrounding region. The research identifies key drivers, including cultural factors, digital literacy, government policy and interventions, privacy and security, technical infrastructure, support services and citizen trust, alongside barriers such as concerns about data security and digital literacy.

The findings reveal the complex interplay of these factors in shaping citizen attitudes toward e-government services and their effects on adoption in Saudi Arabia. The study indicates that citizen motivation toward e-government services moderates the relationship between, adoption and usage behavior.

This study contributes valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners by offering a nuanced perspective on e-government service adoption in the Saudi Arabian context. It enhances our understanding of the factors influencing citizen attitudes and their impact on e-government adoption, highlighting the importance of citizen motivation as a moderating factor in this relationship.

The research paper examines the complex relationship between gamification, student engagement and academic performance in educational environments. The study employed a structural equation model that highlights important connections among key constructs within the educational setting.

This research aims to explore the connection between gamification, student engagement and academic performance in educational settings. The study employs various statistical techniques such as factor analysis, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO), Bartlett’s test, component transformation matrix, correlation and regression analysis, descriptive statistics, ANOVA, coefficients and coefficient correlations, residual statistics and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to analyze the data.

It was found that active participation by the instructor and good time management skills have a positive impact on student engagement levels (β = 0.380, p < 0.001; β = 0.433 and p < 0.001). However, peer interaction does not significantly predict student engagement (β = −0.068 and p = 0.352). Additionally, there is a positive correlation between student engagement and performance (β = 0.280 and p < 0.001).

The study highlights the importance of innovative design to fully utilize gamification. Future research should consider design, user characteristics and educational context. The findings can guide informed decisions about gamification in education, fostering motivation and learning objectives.

The study presents a reliable tool for assessing student engagement and performance in educational settings, demonstrating high Cronbach’s alpha and robust reliability. It identifies student engagement and time management as significant predictors of Global Learning Outcome. The findings can inform decisions on implementing gamification in educational settings, promoting intrinsic motivation and aligning with learning objectives.

The research highlights the transformative impact of gamification on educational practices, highlighting its potential to enhance student experiences, motivate, promote diversity and improve long-term academic performance, highlighting the trend of integrating technology into education.

In today’s ever-changing education landscape, it is essential to incorporate innovative techniques to keep students engaged and enthusiastic about learning. Gamification is one such approach that has become increasingly popular. It is a concept that takes inspiration from the immersive world of games to enhance the overall learning experience.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and two types of well-being, namely subjective and psychological well-being, particularly in a managerial context. The mindfulness-to-meaning theory (MMT) suggests that the practice of mindfulness might lead individuals to reevaluate and find greater meaning in their experiences, ultimately contributing to increased well-being. Accordingly, we argue that mindfulness boosts well-being because it may potentially lead managers to reappraise what surrounds them, making them experience more frequent positive affect.

A two-wave survey with a two-week interval was used to gather quantitative data. An overall sample of 1,260 managers with and without experience with mindfulness took part in the study.

Structural equation modeling showed that mindfulness had a direct and positive relationship with both subjective and psychological well-being. Furthermore, both processes – positive reappraisal and positive affect – mediated the path from mindfulness to both forms of well-being.

The findings emphasize the importance of creating training strategies that develop managers’ ability to positively reappraise daily events and occurrences, which may trigger more frequently positive affective experiences. Therefore, promoting mindfulness training at the workplace may develop mindful employees, especially by working on specific strategies, such as positive reappraisal, which may be a promising empirical-based strategy to enhance well-being.

This study adds knowledge about how mindfulness can contribute to well-being and contributes to expanding the mindfulness-to-meaning theory by adding positive affective experiences as an additional mechanism in the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. Specifically, it demonstrates that the practice of mindfulness helps managers to positively reappraise their surroundings, which results in more frequent experiences of positive affect.