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1 – 10 of 18Mohamed Chakib Kolsi, Ahmad Al-Hiyari and Khaled Hussainey
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained great attention among regulators, stock market authorities, and firms' stakeholders for many decades. In this chapter, we first…
Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained great attention among regulators, stock market authorities, and firms' stakeholders for many decades. In this chapter, we first review the main regulations, standards, and laws issued by UAE federal authorities namely the Company Commercial Law of 2015, the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) disclosure guidance of 2019, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, and UAE CSR platform. Second, we present a summary of the empirical research on CSR issues in UAE context, namely in the following four fields: (1) CSR determinants both at the micro and macro levels, (2) CSR measures in the three pillars (environmental, social, and governance), (3) the impact of CSR policy and practices on financial performance/market value, (4) and the role of some mediating/moderating variables such as leadership and board gender diversity. Results show greater compliance to CSR standards among different industries and institutions but heterogenous empirical findings in the four explored fields. While there is crucial alignment with both social and environmental standards as evidenced by numerous empirical studies, additional efforts should be deployed to highlight the governance pillar through firms' discretionary reporting. Our survey provides useful directives and outcomes as it portrays both legal aspects coupled with some empirical evidence of CSR issues in the UAE context. Our study helps corporations to comply with local standards on sustainability reporting and highlights the potential economic benefits and advantages for firms adopting CSR strategy. Furthermore, it can be considered as the cornerstone for regulatory bodies in the United Arab Emirates when issuing/enhancing new standards/rules on CSR practices.
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Asli Pelin Gurgun, Kerim Koc and Handan Kunkcu
Completing construction projects within the planned schedule has widely been considered as one of the major project success factors. This study investigates the use of…
Abstract
Purpose
Completing construction projects within the planned schedule has widely been considered as one of the major project success factors. This study investigates the use of technologies to address delays in construction projects and aims to address three research questions (1) to identify the adopted technologies and proposed solutions in the literature, (2) to explore the reasons why the delays cannot be prevented despite disruptive technologies and (3) to determine the major strategies to prevent delays in construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 208 research articles that used innovative technologies, methods, or tools to avoid delays in construction projects were investigated by conducting a comprehensive literature review. An elaborative content analysis was performed to cover the implemented technologies and their transformation, highlighted research fields in relation to selected technologies, focused delay causes and corresponding delay mitigation strategies and emphasized project types with specific delay causes. According to the analysis results, a typological framework with appropriate technological means was proposed.
Findings
The findings revealed that several tools such as planning, imaging, geo-spatial data collection, machine learning and optimization have widely been adopted to address specific delay causes. It was also observed that strategies to address various delay causes throughout the life cycle of construction projects have been overlooked in the literature. The findings of the present research underpin the trends and technological advances to address significant delay causes.
Originality/value
Despite the technological advancements in the digitalization era of Industry 4.0, many construction projects still suffer from poor schedule performance. However, the reason of this is questionable and has not been investigated thoroughly.
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Marina Arnaut and James Temitope Dada
Motivated by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-7: clean and affordable energy, SDG-8: sustainable economic growth, SDG-13: climate action), this study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivated by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-7: clean and affordable energy, SDG-8: sustainable economic growth, SDG-13: climate action), this study aims to investigate the role of economic complexity, disaggregated energy consumption in addition to economic growth, financial development, globalization and urbanization on the ecological footprint of United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts unit root tests (with and without a structural break), autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test and dynamic ordinary least squares.
Findings
The results obtained from the ARDL model suggest that economic complexity (EC), nonrenewable energy and economic growth increase the ecological footprint in both the short and long run, thus deteriorating the environment. However, renewable energy and urbanization reduce the ecological footprint in UAE during the two periods, thus improving environmental quality. Globalization and financial development have different influences on ecological footprint during these periods. These findings are robust to other estimation techniques.
Practical implications
Based on these results, this study offers significant policy implications such as increasing renewable energy supply, particularly solar energy and aligning the product manufacturing structure and complexity toward producing environmentally friendly products which can be used to realize the nation’s agenda of reducing fossil fuels consumption to 38% by 2050 and achieving sustainable environment and growth.
Originality/value
This study provides an empirical attempt to investigate the influence of EC and renewable and nonrenewable energy on the ecological footprint of the UAE.
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Klaudia Jaskula, Dimosthenis Kifokeris, Eleni Papadonikolaki and Dimitrios Rovas
Information management workflow in building information modelling (BIM)-based collaboration is based on using a common data environment (CDE). The basic premise of a CDE is…
Abstract
Purpose
Information management workflow in building information modelling (BIM)-based collaboration is based on using a common data environment (CDE). The basic premise of a CDE is exposing all relevant data as a single source of truth and facilitating continuous collaboration between stakeholders. A multitude of tools can be used as a CDE, however, it is not clear how the tools are used or if they fulfil the users’ needs. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate current practices of using CDEs for information management during the whole built asset’s life cycle, through a state-of-the-art literature review and an empirical study.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature data is collected according to the PRISMA 2020 guideline for reporting systematic reviews. This paper includes 46 documents in the review and conduct a bibliometric and thematic analysis to identify the main challenges of digital information management. To understand the current practice and the views of the stakeholders using CDEs in their work, this paper used an empirical approach including semi-structured interviews with 15 BIM experts.
Findings
The results indicate that one of the major challenges of CDE adoption is project complexity and using multiple CDEs simultaneously leading to data accountability, transparency and reliability issues. To tackle those challenges, the use of novel technologies in CDE development such as blockchain could be further investigated.
Originality/value
The research explores the major challenges in the practical implementation of CDEs for information management. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on this topic combining a systematic literature review and fieldwork.
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Abdul Rauf, Daniel Efurosibina Attoye and Robert H. Crawford
Recently, there has been a shift toward the embodied energy assessment of buildings. However, the impact of material service life on the life-cycle embodied energy has received…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently, there has been a shift toward the embodied energy assessment of buildings. However, the impact of material service life on the life-cycle embodied energy has received little attention. We aimed to address this knowledge gap, particularly in the context of the UAE and investigated the embodied energy associated with the use of concrete and other materials commonly used in residential buildings in the hot desert climate of the UAE.
Design/methodology/approach
Using input–output based hybrid analysis, we quantified the life-cycle embodied energy of a villa in the UAE with over 50 years of building life using the average, minimum, and maximum material service life values. Mathematical calculations were performed using MS Excel, and a detailed bill of quantities with >170 building materials and components of the villa were used for investigation.
Findings
For the base case, the initial embodied energy was 57% (7390.5 GJ), whereas the recurrent embodied energy was 43% (5,690 GJ) of the life-cycle embodied energy based on average material service life values. The proportion of the recurrent embodied energy with minimum material service life values was increased to 68% of the life-cycle embodied energy, while it dropped to 15% with maximum material service life values.
Originality/value
The findings provide new data to guide building construction in the UAE and show that recurrent embodied energy contributes significantly to life-cycle energy demand. Further, the study of material service life variations provides deeper insights into future building material specifications and management considerations for building maintenance.
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Given the rapid increase in energy consumption in the residential sector in Jordan recently, the question of how to promote energy-saving behavior in Jordanian households is an…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the rapid increase in energy consumption in the residential sector in Jordan recently, the question of how to promote energy-saving behavior in Jordanian households is an emerging topic that is receiving increasing attention from scholars and academics. Generally, there is an unresolved paradox in the literature concerning electricity-saving behaviors. On one hand, numerous studies highlight energy-saving behaviors. On the other hand, recent research indicates the presence of significant untapped potential in electricity-saving behaviors. Therefore, it is useful to revisit the construct of these behaviors qualitatively to expand understanding. The study aimed to provide a better understanding of electricity energy-saving behaviors in terms of its motivations, barriers and support mechanisms from household heads' or household members' perspectives
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative study in a sample of households in north Jordan was conducted in the Irbid province using grounded theory methodology. The analysis of qualitative data involved coding, followed by the integration of codes into more comprehensive categories and themes and interpreting the findings.
Findings
The results identify the motivations for households to save energy, the main barriers to indulging in electricity energy-saving behaviors, and the main support mechanisms and perceived support of electricity energy-saving behaviors
Practical implications
The findings bear significant implications for targeted interventions in the study area, improving motivations and addressing local barriers and can inform future policy issues by tailoring initiatives to the specific context.
Originality/value
This study is distinguished by being the first study that specializes in electricity energy-saving behavior of households in Jordan, using new methodology and techniques (qualitative survey).
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Abiola Paterne Chokki, Charalampos Alexopoulos, Stuti Saxena, Benoît Frénay, Benoît Vanderose and Mohsan Ali
The study seeks to investigate the quality of metadata associated with the open government data (OGD) portals of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) constituents – Bahrain…
Abstract
Purpose
The study seeks to investigate the quality of metadata associated with the open government data (OGD) portals of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) constituents – Bahrain (BH), Kuwait (KW), Oman (OM), Qatar (QA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative framework, supported by extant literature, is adopted to assess the metadata quality of the six OGD portals of the GCC constituents.
Findings
Among the six GCC countries, QA has the most advanced OGD metadata quality followed by KSA, UAE, OM, BH and KW. Furthermore, the OGD metadata quality (MQ) of UAE and OM stand at the same pedestal whereas BH and KW OGD portals are lagging behind.
Originality/value
While the OGD quality has been investigated in extant literature, the MQ of the OGD portals for the GCC countries has not been investigated so far – the present study seeks to plug this gap.
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Vinaytosh Mishra and Mohita G. Sharma
Digital lean implementation can solve the dual problem of stagnating quality and rising costs in healthcare. Although technology adoption in healthcare has increased in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital lean implementation can solve the dual problem of stagnating quality and rising costs in healthcare. Although technology adoption in healthcare has increased in the post-COVID world, value unlocking using technology needs a well-thought-out approach to achieve success. This paper provides a prescriptive framework for successfully implementing digital lean in healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a mixed-method approach to achieve three research objectives. Whilst it uses a narrative review to identify the enablers, it uses qualitative thematic analysis techniques to categorise them into factors. The study utilises the delphi method for the thematic grouping of the enablers in the broader groups. The study used an advanced ordinal priority approach (OPA) to prioritise these factors. Finally, the study uses concordance analysis to assess the reliability of group decision-making.
Findings
The study found that 20 identified enablers are rooted in practice factors, followed by human resource management (HRM) factors, customer factors, leadership factors and technology factors. These results further counter the myth that technology holds the utmost significance in implementing digital lean in healthcare and found the equal importance of factors related to people, customers, leadership and best practices such as benchmarking, continuous improvement and change management.
Originality/value
The study is the first of its kind, providing the prescriptive framework for implementing digital lean in healthcare. The findings are useful for healthcare professionals and health policymakers.
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Dhia Qasim, Ahmed Shuhaiber, Ashraf Bany Mohammed and Marco Valeri
This paper aims to understand in-depth the electronic entrepreneurial intentions (EEI) towards launching online start-ups in United Arab Emirates (UAE) by exploring the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand in-depth the electronic entrepreneurial intentions (EEI) towards launching online start-ups in United Arab Emirates (UAE) by exploring the effect of perceived entrepreneurial culture and risk propensity on EEI amongst the youth in the country, additionally, exploring the differences (if existed) amongst intentions based on gender categories.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a theoretical framework based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to examine perceived entrepreneurial culture, risk propensity and the moderating role of gender. The researchers followed the partial least squares in structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. The collected responses of 250 online surveys were analysed using the SmartPLS 3.3 software.
Findings
The results showed a significant positive influence of risk propensity and perceived entrepreneurial culture on EEI in the UAE. Interestingly, despite that many prior studies showing a significant impact of gender e-EI, the analysis showed no differences between male and female responses regarding EEI. More results are demonstrated in the study.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is considered the first in the UAE which investigates empirically the factors that influence youth intentions to launch online start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures in the country. In addition, the results of this study contribute to the relevant literature by adding rich insights into the moderating role of gender in the relationship between perceived entrepreneurial culture and the three constructs of TPB, namely attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, in order to start an e-entrepreneurial business. Furthermore, this study genuinely addresses the role of risk propensity in impacting the youth intentions in e-entrepreneurial ventures mediated by perceived behavioural control. Therefore, this research study provides original and rich insights into youth attitudes towards and behaviours of launching online start-ups and significantly contributes to the body of the e-entrepreneurship literature.
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