Search results

Work–family conflict (WFC) is rife among construction professionals, leading to a significant negative impact on their work engagement. Building on an extant body of research, this study provides nuanced insights into the link between WFC, work–life balance (WLB) and work engagement and identifies the boundary conditions of these relationships.

Data were collected from 257 dyads of construction professionals and their immediate supervisors from a sample of five construction firms based in India using an online survey.

The results found that WLB mediates the relationship between WFC and work engagement, and the relationship is controlled by professionals' gender and perceptions of psychological contract breach (PCB). An important finding is that PCB accentuates the negative influence of WFC on work engagement via WLB. The study also reveals that the negative impact of WFC on WLB is stronger for women.

The findings are relevant for construction firms since they are primarily dominated by men and continue to struggle to attract more women professionals. The study insights provide avenues to expand existing research on the relationship between WFC and work engagement and offer managerial implications for improving construction professionals' work engagement in the high-pressure context of the construction industry.

The study significantly advances the underdeveloped literature on work–family interface, especially in the unique work settings of the construction industry, by establishing WFC as a predictor and revealing how engagement at work is affected. It highlights the importance of boundary conditions such as gender and PCB. It is one of the first to assess the relationship between WFC, WLB, PCB and work engagement among construction professionals in India.

This paper aims to explore the role of frontline employees (FLEs) as mediators in transformative service processes within services targeting vulnerable users.

This paper is based on a case study of the development and implementation of a dementia village, and the data consist of documents, in-depth interviews and field observations.

The analysis identifies FLEs as mediators in six different roles. These roles highlight how FLEs perform as mediators, acting in between and for vulnerable users and thus supporting their well-being. Specifically, the roles explicate the mediating role of FLEs in the design and planning of transformative changes and in daily work practices.

The different mediating roles of FLEs presented here should inform care providers and managers of how employees can become assets for supporting vulnerable users’ well-being during the design and planning stages of transformative change and through daily service work.

This paper offers novel insights into the multifaceted roles of FLEs in transformative services. The findings add to the current debate on mediation in transformative services and contribute to the literature by extending and refining the established conceptual and empirical understandings of the role of transformative service mediators in consumers’ well-being.

This study aims to analyse the attempts of taught master course students' publications from actor-network theoretic (ANT) perspectives based on the authors' experiences.

In this study, self-study was chosen as the research method. Self-study is a qualitative research approach based on autobiography, available materials, narratives or memory-work for researchers to investigate their own practice from professional and personal experiences and work with critical friends. In this study, self-study was conducted based on the reflective narratives of three authors (the students, Authors 1 and 2, and the lecturer, Author 3), which aims to examine the meanings and explanations of the authors' ordinary experiences and investigate a variety of their emotional memories.

By drawing on ANT, this study explored how the authors translated the assignment tasks into publications by negotiating and interacting with various human and non-human actors – academic journals. The journal articles, however, were not solely the outcome of the academic endevours of the authors. Instead, the journals played a role in helping the authors learn about the academic rigour and gain confidence in their own capabilities. Further, the journals also reinforced the academic partnerships between the authors through collaboration on drafting and revising their manuscripts.

Firstly, this process of helping students publish their papers should focus on their learning and experience rather than merely promoting competition. Additionally, the importance of reaching an agreement on role division and collaborative work ethics needs to be emphasised.

As publications have become increasingly important for graduate students, this study sheds light on the experience of taught master's course students (TMCSs) and their lecturer in jointly publishing papers. While doctoral student publications have received significant attention, TMCSs' publications have not been extensively studied, making this research valuable and original.

Cooperative agreements between universities and firms (U–F) have gained prominence. However, the literature on organisational culture and the formation of cooperation agreements is scarce. This study aims to analyse, from the perspective of the managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those in charge in universities, the perceptions of the influence of organisational culture on this type of U–F cooperation.

To this end, multiple case studies were adopted, involving cooperation agreements between a Portuguese and eight SMEs incubated in UBImedical. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information, aiming to understand the meaning, importance and possible obstacles caused by organisational culture in this U–F cooperation agreement.

Content analysis of the results obtained leads to the conclusion that cultural compatibility is a crucial factor for successful U–F cooperation. The exchange of knowledge, mutual trust and flexibility between those involved are identified as key determinants to build shared norms that allow a more productive, assertive union.

The study represents an important tool to support SME managers and those in charge of universities, as the evidence obtained can help them to define policies and actions with regard to the U–F cooperation process. More precisely, these SME and university managers could give more attention to culture in future cooperation agreements.

This study advances understanding of the role of organisational culture in a cooperation agreement since this was a gap identified in the literature on the topic. It also contributes to the existing body of work on U–F cooperation, demonstrating that organisational culture is considered important by partners in these agreements and should be adjusted towards compatible alignment of each party’s expectations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of labour force participation and the factors affecting labour supply among older persons in Ghana. Both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons’ labour supply were analysed.

The paper uses nationally representative samples of household and individual data in 2016–2017 – Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7) data – for the analysis. Heckman’s sample selection model is used to analyse both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons’ labour supply.

The study found that older persons in Ghana who are pensioners, widowed, have high levels of education, poor health status and live in urban areas are less likely to participate actively in the labour market. On the other hand, being head of a household, married and owning certain assets increase the likelihood of an older person to work. Furthermore, pensions, household headship and post-secondary education have negative effects on the labour supply as having them make older persons work fewer hours per week compared to their counterparts.

This research is the first study to examine the prevalence of old age employment and factors that affect labour market decisions of older persons in Ghana. It also adds to the limited literature on pension and retirement decisions in developing countries.

The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on entrepreneurial processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study intends to fill this gap by researching the mechanisms for facilitating AE and the variables that can moderate the relationship between such mechanisms and AE in Portuguese HEIs.

Our research model aims to assess the mechanisms of academic entrepreneurship (AE) within a sample of 125 Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs). To test our research hypotheses, we employed a structural equation model (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Additionally, our evaluation examines the potential moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs (PoCs). Our research model seeks to evaluate the mechanisms for facilitating AE and explore the effects of including incubator programs, support initiatives, and PoCs as moderators. The seven variables (Research mobilization, Unconventionality, Industry collaboration, University policies, Incubator programs and support initiatives, Proof-of-concept programs, and academic entrepreneurship) were measured using a 7-point Likert scale.

The results revealed that different drivers of AE influence the creation and development of entrepreneurial activities. Our findings also show the moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs on AE. We find that incubator programs, other support initiatives, and PoCs maintain a moderating effect on AE and benefit their respective HEIs.

The study examines only the Portuguese HEI context. Therefore, generalizing these results necessitates reservations. However, the responses came from various actors in HEIs, from different academic backgrounds and research interests. This makes the results more generalizable. Limitations are evident in external validity, given that we gathered the data over a relatively short period.

Observed factors are explored to gain a deeper understanding of their influence on the mechanisms of AE. The implications arise from the new perspective presented and the methodology used to identify mechanisms capable of fostering AE. We hope this research will encourage other researchers to study this topic further.

the engagement of universities at the global level should be emphasised in future policy. While universities in innovation systems often have a local focus, their engagement in innovation ecosystems transcends the boundaries of geographic locations.

PoCs had a significant positive moderating effect on the impact of research mobilization and university policies on AE. Thus, we find interactions between universities and industry boost AE. This study demonstrates how AE benefits HEIs by extending orientation towards mobilizing research, unconventional approaches, cooperation with industry, and university policy implementation. We thus advocate a new approach, demonstrating the influence that the mobility of research, unconventionality, industry collaboration, and university policies hold over AE.

Spoken service language is critical for service experiences and human welfare in many service settings. However, little is known about how spoken service language can enhance customer well-being in transformative service contexts. This paper explores spoken service language and well-being for customers experiencing vulnerability in a transformative service context, informed by an empirical account of the human welfare service of residential aged care.

Situated within transformative service research (TSR), this study was guided by a theoretical framework of service language and adopts a strengths-based approach to customer experiences of vulnerability. A qualitative multiple case study methodology was applied to explore carers’ perspectives on spoken service language and well-being from three residential aged care homes in Australia.

The findings demonstrate five spoken service language practices and four principles of spoken service language for well-being that co-create customer well-being and support the alleviation of customer experiences of vulnerability. Conceptualised as transformative spoken service language, the spoken service language practices and principles collectively recognise, support and leverage residents’ capabilities and uplift customer well-being, by enacting a process of mattering highly salient to transformative service contexts.

This study is the first to conceptualise how employee spoken service language can be used to support customer well-being and enhance transformative value for customers experiencing vulnerability to align with the goals of TSR. Practically, the study advocates for a greater awareness and more considered use of transformative spoken service language in human welfare and other transformative service contexts.

The purpose of this review is to provide a conceptual framework of consumer engagement behavior in the value co-creation process of healthcare services, and further understand the current knowledge maps and advances.

Specifically, the scoping review methodology is used to synthesize the extant findings. The authors first develop the inclusion/exclusion criteria to evaluate the source material for the review; then, the authors further conduct the literature refinement to select the final data sample. As such, the authors extract and analyze the information derived from these articles.

The authors found most related studies focus on exploring patients' engagement behavior in the value co-creation process, especially those with chronic disease; the findings also reveal that consumers are most likely to engage in the value co-creation process of healthcare services by seeking or sharing health information; also, consumers engagement behavior is mainly driven by individual, interactive, and technological factors; moreover, consumer engagement in the value co-creation of healthcare services are more likely to achieve positive health and behavioral outcomes.

The role of consumers has gradually shifted from that of passive recipients to that of active participants in the healthcare value co-creation process. Consumer engagement behavior is the key premise for the realization of healthcare value co-creation, and it has received increasing attention both academically and practically. By unearthing the conceptual framework of consumer engagement behavior in the value co-creation process of healthcare services, this study provides a systematic understanding and serves as a useful resource for future research and practice.

Preventative health services are keen to identify how to engage men and increase their participation, thus improving health, well-being and life expectancy over time. Prior research has shown general gender norms are a key reason for men’s avoidance of these services, yet there is little investigation of specific gender norms. Furthermore, masculinity has not been examined as a factor associated with customer vulnerability. This paper aims to identify the relationship between gender norm segments for men, likely customer vulnerability over time and subjective health and well-being.

Adult males (n = 13,891) from an Australian longitudinal men’s health study were classified using latent class analysis. Conditional growth mixture modelling was conducted at three timepoints.

Three masculinity segments were identified based on masculine norm conformity: traditional self-reliant, traditional bravado and modern status. All segments had likely customer experience of vulnerability. Over time, the likely experience was temporary for the modern status segment but prolonged for the traditional self-reliant and traditional bravado segments. The traditional self-reliant segment had low subjective health and low overall well-being over time.

Practitioners can tailor services to gender norm segments, enabling self-reliant men to provide expertise and use the “Status” norm to reach all masculinity segments.

The study of customer vulnerability in a group usually considered privileged identifies differential temporal experiences based on gender norms. The study confirms customer vulnerability is temporal in nature; customer vulnerability changes over time from likely to actual for self-reliant men.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opening experience that put to the test our crisis management competencies across many institutions, including those offered by institutions of higher education. This study aims to review the literature on international business (IB) risks and IB education (IBE) to question whether business graduates are equipped to make decisions in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) marketplace.

While the IB literature has discussed the importance of various sources of risks on global business operations, IBE did not effectively adopt an integrative approach to building the needed risk management competencies related to those risks into our education. The authors argue that this integrative approach to teaching IB is critically needed to prepare future global managers for addressing crises, like that of the pandemic and others. Specifically, this study proposes that this integrated risk management competency can be developed through the building of “synergistic mindsets”.

This study presents a conceptual framework for the components of the synergistic mindset, with intelligence that directly links to present IB risks. These components are cultural intelligence (CQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), public policy intelligence (PPQ), digital intelligence (DQ) and orchestration intelligence (OQ).

Insights related to IBE effectiveness in addressing today’s VUCA market demands and IB risks are discussed.