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1 – 10 of 35Arne Kroeger, Nicole Siebold, Franziska Günzel-Jensen, Fouad Philippe Saade and Jukka-Pekka Heikkilä
In this paper, we contribute to the understanding of how entrepreneurs can deploy their values to enable joint action of heterogeneous stakeholders. Such an understanding forms a…
Abstract
In this paper, we contribute to the understanding of how entrepreneurs can deploy their values to enable joint action of heterogeneous stakeholders. Such an understanding forms a critical endeavor to tackle grand challenges adequately. Building on sensegiving research, we conducted a single-case study of an entrepreneurial initiative that tackles gender inequality in Lebanon which has been successful in mobilizing heterogeneous stakeholders who ordinarily would not collaborate with each other. We find that the values of the founders were pivotal for the initiative’s success as those values activated latent values of stakeholders through processes of contextualization and enactment. We subsume these processes under the label value-driven sensegiving. As a result of value-driven sensegiving, heterogeneous stakeholders could make sense of the founders’ aspirational vision and the role they could play in it, which paved ways for tackling grand challenges collaboratively. Our study provides insights into the centrality of values for mobilizing heterogeneous stakeholders across boundaries. Therefore, it contributes to the body of work on sensegiving, societal grand challenges, and new forms of organizing.
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Fatma Zerah Tan and Gbemi Oladipo Olaore
In today’s business world, competition is no longer about resources accumulated, but the emphasis is now placed more on the actual accumulation and utilization of knowledge within…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s business world, competition is no longer about resources accumulated, but the emphasis is now placed more on the actual accumulation and utilization of knowledge within the organization. Attention has shifted drastically from just acquiring wealth in the organization to an era where knowledge and learning within the organization becomes more critical and important to the organizational survival and continuous growth as put forward by this paper. This paper investigated the effect of organizational learning and effectiveness on operations, employee productivity and management performance. This paper aims to add to scholarly works and knowledge on organizational learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Random and stratified sampling techniques were used. Data collection was done with the use of a questionnaire and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical multiple regression.
Findings
The result from the data analyzed shows that there is a positive relationship between organizational learning and effectiveness, operations, employees’ productivity and management performance suggesting that organization learning impact is encompassing because it affects and influences the effectiveness and efficiency of all the staff at every level within the organization.
Practical implications
Organizations should strive and do everything possible to ensure organizational learning because this study is in an era where knowledge and learning within the organization are more critical and important to organizational survival and continuous growth.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that the only way to fast-track growth in every sphere of the organization is to ensure organizational learning as it influences the effectiveness and efficiency of all the staff at every level within the organization.
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Aleksandra Gaweł and Katarzyna Mroczek-Dąbrowska
Although several theoretical concepts imply different determinants of female entrepreneurship, the literature lacks a consensus on their significance. The aim of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Although several theoretical concepts imply different determinants of female entrepreneurship, the literature lacks a consensus on their significance. The aim of this paper is to verify how industry specificity influences the gender pay gap and its relation to female entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distinguish industries based on the gender equality level, measured jointly by two factors: pay gap level and female participation rate. The study has been conducted among 22 European countries with relatively similar institutional backgrounds. The authors carry out the analysis based on the panel regression models, which enable the authors to verify two predefined research questions.
Findings
The results of panel regression models indicate that industry specificity plays a significant role in the relation between the pay gap and female entrepreneurship. Generally, it can be concluded that gender pay gap as a measure of gender inequality is dependent on the industry specificity. The dependence is especially visible in the breakdown of male- and female-dominated industries.
Originality/value
The findings are consistent with the assumption that the gender pay gap is a discriminatory factor for women willing to become entrepreneurs in certain industries. The findings of the study may constitute a vital tool in planning to overcome it.
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Samaan Al‐Msallam and Amal Abdelhadi
This paper examines factors that lead consumers to engage in unethical consumer behaviour (UECB) to develop a framework for understanding this phenomenon.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines factors that lead consumers to engage in unethical consumer behaviour (UECB) to develop a framework for understanding this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
The study data were collected using the qualitative approach by conducting personal interviews with 27 marketers in two Arab countries, Libya and Syria.
Findings
The findings indicate that previous models of UECB are applicable to Arab consumers. However, the effects of the examined factors on UECB adoption are influenced by the local environment. Also, the paper explored some newly factors that clearly affect UECB.
Practical implications
This study provides a model of UECB for Arab consumers to help companies to understand Arab consumers’ behaviour. This model determines the influencing factors on this behaviour that companies can use to build their marketing strategies directed at the Libyan and Syrian markets during the reconstruction phase. Moreover, the research results help companies avoid and control UECB.
Originality/value
Almost all studies of UECB have been conducted in Western countries; the present study attempts to address this gap in the ethical decision-making literature, as well as marketing literature, and examine the UECB in Arab countries. Furthermore, previous studies of UECB mostly look at one typical form of UECB; this study provides a broader contribution to the literature on UECB by using a set of scenarios; shoplifting, software piracy and pilfering from hotel rooms.
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God promised pious individuals who obey to His commandments, to increase their economic well-being. Although it is difficult to demonstrate with figures in hand this causality…
Abstract
Purpose
God promised pious individuals who obey to His commandments, to increase their economic well-being. Although it is difficult to demonstrate with figures in hand this causality relationship, Muslims must believe in its existence and robustness at both the individual and collective levels, as it is argued in Qur'an and the Prophetic Narration. We aim in this paper to model this positive relationship between Islamic work ethics and economic growth and prove theoretically its existence.
Design/methodology/approach
We develop an endogenous growth model very close technically to Lucas–Uzawa model (1988) in which the human capital defined as the individual's skill level acquired through formal education and learning by doing is replaced by ethical capital (piety).
Findings
The model proves theoretically that Islamic ethics are a key engine of endogenous economic growth and that the underdevelopment of Muslim populations is due to their low ethical capital (lack of piety).
Practical implications
The study recommends some policies such as providing formal religious education at all educational levels (elementary, secondary and higher levels) and promoting ethical values such as piety, sincerity, transparency, etc., through media and cultural institutions. Also, managers could provide courses and training to their workers to teach them Islamic work ethics.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to mathematically model Islamic work ethics as endogenous phenomena in socioeconomic systems and study theoretically their contributions to economic growth.
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Aleksandra Gaweł, Katarzyna Mroczek-Dąbrowska and Malgorzata Bartosik-Purgat
As women’s position in the economy and society is often explained by cultural factors, this study aims to verify whether the observed changes in female empowerment in the region…
Abstract
Purpose
As women’s position in the economy and society is often explained by cultural factors, this study aims to verify whether the observed changes in female empowerment in the region of Central and East European (CEE) countries of the European Union (EU) are associated with masculinity as a cultural trait.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply the k-means clustering method to group CEE countries into clusters with similar levels of female empowerment in two time points – 2013 and 2019. Next, the authors examine the clusters and cross-reference them with the national culture’s masculinity to explore the interrelations between female empowerment and cultural traits in the CEE countries and their development in time.
Findings
The analyses reveal that female empowerment is not uniform or stable across the CEE countries. The masculinity level is not strongly related to women’s position in these countries, and changes in female empowerment are not closely linked to masculinity.
Originality/value
Despite the tumultuous history of women’s empowerment in the CEE countries, the issues related to gender equality and cultural traits pertaining to the region are relatively understudied in the literature. By focusing on the CEE region, the authors fill the gap in examining the independencies between female empowerment and cultural masculinity.
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Raouf Jaziri and Mohammad Saleh Miralam
Psychological and entrepreneurial traits have been widely studied as explicative variables of encouraging entrepreneurial behavior, while their impact on innovative activity is…
Abstract
Purpose
Psychological and entrepreneurial traits have been widely studied as explicative variables of encouraging entrepreneurial behavior, while their impact on innovative activity is less explored. This study examines whether, how and why psycho-entrepreneurial traits and social networks effect innovativeness among women firm owners.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of data collected from 304 Saudi women entrepreneurs accompanied by business accelerators provides a wide support with some notable exceptions. We use Structural Equation Modeling technique to estimate how different constructs interact with each other and jointly affect directly or indirectly women's innovativeness behavior in Saudi Arabia.
Findings
Findings point out that innovativeness is positively and significantly affected by emotional intelligence, internal locus of control, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The construct of entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between both business and personal networks and innovativeness. However, professional forums and mentors have no significant effect on innovativeness.
Research limitations/implications
The sample selection is limited to two entrepreneurial support structures especially business accelerator and business incubator. Expanding the context to other support structures can reinforce the implications and provide more valuable results.
Practical implications
The findings are likely to be of applicability for improving women entrepreneurship by entrepreneurial support structures.
Originality/value
This research is original in the sense that it investigated useful insights of innovativeness among Saudi female entrepreneurs.
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This paper aims to attempt to provide an overview of the valuable scientific contribution on learning organization in social science from the perspectives of Professor Silvia…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to attempt to provide an overview of the valuable scientific contribution on learning organization in social science from the perspectives of Professor Silvia Gherardi and discusses the evolution of Silvia’s work over her long career.
Design/methodology/approach
With the collaboration of this leading scholar, Professor Silvia Gherardi, this paper investigates several topics pertaining to the debate on Learning Organization and provides a unique perspective on the development of these theories.
Findings
Starting from the Italian perspective, in which knowledge and learning are mainly social and cultural phenomena, the paper focuses on Professor Silvia Gherardi’s contribution to the emerging area of practice-based theorizing of knowing and learning in organizations.
Originality/value
In the light of different epistemological approaches and views, the discussion with Professor Silvia Gherardi reveals her practice-based perspective. She proposes a historical analysis of the evolution of the Learning Organization debate, thus providing fertile ground for both researchers and practitioners.
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Daicy Vaz, Wardah Qureshi, Yama Temouri and Vijay Pereira
Previous research provides adequate evidence on performance management (PM) for hospitals and healthcare providers; however, less is known about their individual and PM appraisal…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research provides adequate evidence on performance management (PM) for hospitals and healthcare providers; however, less is known about their individual and PM appraisal process. Additionally, there is limited research exploring PM in the Middle Eastern context. This study investigates PM practices in the Middle Eastern healthcare industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts the qualitative research methodology through semi-structured interviews of healthcare professionals in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Thematic analysis was adopted for analyzing this qualitative data.
Findings
The main findings have uncovered different facets of appraisal challenges for both the appraiser (i.e. manager) and the appraisee (i.e. employee). These challenges include communication deficits, lack of goal setting standards and regular meeting updates in order to ensure employee satisfaction and motivation in the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
This study has significant implications for policymakers in Middle Eastern hospitals in terms of implementing PM for their staff. Moreover, future studies can conduct in-depth analysis and provide comparison between public and private sectors in the Gulf countries.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to portray challenges involved in conducting PM in the Middle East healthcare sector specifically in the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), both from the perspectives of the appraiser and appraisee.
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Poh Yen Ng, Bronwyn P. Wood and Bettina Lynda Bastian
The purpose of this study is to develop an empirically informed framework to analyze women empowerment and entrepreneurship, contextualized within a collective society.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an empirically informed framework to analyze women empowerment and entrepreneurship, contextualized within a collective society.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs located in the United Arab Emirates to understand their entrepreneurial experiences and how they were empowered.
Findings
Findings suggest that the three aspects of power characterized as “positive” from within Rowlands’ distinctions (“power to”, “power with” and “power within”) dominate, as opposed to those emphasized in the literature (“power to” and “power over”). Findings include empowerment of the “me” (individual) also synergistically contributes to empowerment of the “we” (society), when considering empowerment within a collective society.
Originality/value
A psychology model was used as a basis to develop a Collective Empowerment Process Framework. This framework provides a fresh look at empowerment, allowing for explanations of how women in specific contexts experience empowerment and social change.
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