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This article focuses on regional-level cooperation in higher education by examining the functional, organizational and political approaches (FOPA) framework for higher education regionalization and using supra-national regional universities as established and successful examples of regional-level higher education cooperation among countries.

A conceptual framework is used to provide the structure for analyzing the key approaches to higher education regionalization, followed by an analysis of supra-national regional universities to demonstrate the application of the model.

The FOPA framework for higher education regionalization includes three approaches. The first is the functional approach, which includes both collaborative academic and research activities among higher education institutions as well strategies and policies to help align systems across a region. The second is the organizational approach, which focuses on networks, organizations, institutions and programs, which facilitate partnerships. The third is the political approach, which includes regional-level agreements, declarations and strategic plans to promote higher education collaboration. Key higher education activities for each approach are discussed in generic terms, with examples provided from major regions of the world.

The research was based on desk research only. No interviews were conducted.

A conceptual analysis and a model were provided for the concept of regionalization of higher education and for regional universities, which can help readers locate their interests and research in the regionalization of higher education. Examples of three different types of regional universities were provided to give concrete illustrations of a regional university.

One of the rationales driving regional universities is to address and increase a sense of regional identify and to meet the social, economic and educational needs of the specified region.

Regional universities, such as the University of West Indies, Arab Open University and the Pan-Africa University, are an understudied phenomenon. Using them as innovative and sustainable examples of higher education regional cooperation and the FOPA model, this study illustrates how single-campus, multiple-campus and virtual regional universities are functioning to meet the diversified needs and priorities across a region through cooperation among countries.

The purpose of this study is to examine the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative’s (NEITI) ineffectiveness in delivering public accountability to Nigerian citizens. Although this failure is recognised in prior literature, the authors contend that NEITI’s role is obscured by one-sided links to external factors.

The conceptual framework presented in this study is built around Dillard and Vinnari’s (2019) distinction between different accountability systems and Brown and Dillard’s (2020) complimentary insights on the technologies of hubris and humility. The analytical framework draws from Grant and Keohane’s (2005) modes of accountability, which the authors use to articulate conflicting accountability demands (to-whom and for-what) of NEITI’s operating relationships. Combined, the authors analyse official documents, media, reports and interview responses from members of NEITI’s National Stakeholders Working Group.

This study surfaces a variety of intersecting interests across NEITI’s operational relationships. Some of these interests are mutually beneficial like that of Donors and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Others run counter to each other, such as NEITI’s relationship to the Presidency which illustrates a key source of NEITI’s ineffectiveness. In discussing these interests, the authors articulate their connection to NEITI’s design as an accountability system and its embedded limitations.

The authors provide incremental understanding of prior insight regarding NEITI’s ineffectiveness by drawing attention to its fundamental design as an accountability system and its failure to deliver public accountability. To illuminate these failures, the authors also map NEITI’s competing accountability demands – the nexus of accountability – to demonstrate the complex socio-political reality within which NEITI is expected to operate. The authors posit that NEITI’s ineffectiveness has as much to do with NEITI itself, as it does with external factors like the quality of information disclosed and the unique Nigerian context.

This study aims to focus on key approaches to education for sustainability (EfS) leadership development in the context of Malaysian and Japanese universities. The authors identify key indicators of effective EfS leadership development approaches using both descriptive and inferential analyses, identify and compare the preferred leadership learning methods of academics and examine the impact of marital status, country of residence and administrative position on the three EfS leadership development approaches.

The study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Data were collected from 664 academics and analysed using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) methodology. To provide higher education researchers with more analytical insights, the authors re-estimated the models based on the maximum likelihood methodology and compared the results across the two methods.

The inferential results underscored the significance of four EfS leadership learning methods, namely, “Involvement in professional leadership groups or associations, including those concerned with EfS”, “Being involved in a formal mentoring/coaching program”, “Completing formal leadership programs provided by my institution” and “Participating in higher education leadership seminars”. Additionally, the authors noted a significant impact of country of residence on the three approaches to EfS leadership development. Furthermore, although marital status emerged as a predictor for self-managed learning and formal leadership development (with little practical relevance), administrative position did not exhibit any influence on the three approaches.

In addition to the theoretical and methodological implications drawn from the findings, the authors emphasize a number of practical implications, namely, exploring the applicability of the results to other East Asian countries, the adaptation of current higher education leadership development programmes focused on the key challenges faced by successful leaders in similar roles, and the consideration of a range of independent variables including marital status, administrative position and country of residence in the formulation of policies related to EfS leadership development.

This study represents an inaugural international comparative analysis that specifically examines EfS leadership learning methods. The investigation uses the research approach and conceptual framework used in the international Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education initiative and uses the PLSe2 methodology to inferentially pinpoint key learning methods and test the formulated hypotheses.

This paper explores the similarities and differences in privacy attitudes, trust and risk beliefs between younger and older adults on social networking sites. The objective of the article is to ascertain whether any notable differences exist between younger (18–25 years old) and older (55+ years old) adults in how trust and risk are influenced by privacy concerns upon personal information disclosure on social media.

A Likert scale instrument validated in previous research was employed to gather the responses of 148 younger and 152 older adults. The scale was distributed through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling.

No significant differences were found between younger and older adults in how social media privacy concerns related to trust and risk beliefs. Two privacy concern dimensions were found to have a significant influence on perceptions of risk for both populations: collection and control. Predictability and a sense of control are proposed as two conceptual approaches that can explain these findings.

This article is the first one to explore age differences in privacy concerns, trust and risk on social media employing conceptual developments and an instrument specifically tailored to the social media environment. Based on the findings, several strategies are suggested to keep privacy concerns on social media at a minimum, reduce risk perceptions and increase users' trust.

Research examining the joint role of serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy in holistic value provision within servitizing industrial firms is scarce. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the role of serial acquisition and subsidiary autonomy in providing value within servitizing industrial networks.

A conceptual framework is developed based on the case study of a large Swedish industrial group specializing in selling industrial products and providing industrial solutions to business customers through its numerous subsidiaries.

The analysis of 14 interviews with the five subsidiaries and seven customer firms and secondary data reveals interesting findings concerning the role of serial niche acquisition strategy and subsidiary autonomy in customer value provision in servitizing organizations. In particular, the authors find that the role of acquisitions in industrial firms extends beyond growth to customer sensing and proximity. Likewise, the authors find that subsidiary autonomy facilitates value provision to customers in industrial networks.

The paper provides a more nuanced understanding of how serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy are intertwined and jointly affect industrial firms’ value provision activities amidst the servitization transition in an intraorganizational network.

Bank lending is the major source of monetary expansion. Bank-led money creation is a key issue in both conventional and Islamic financial systems. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues related to Islamic banking money creation. In this conceptual paper, the authors investigate the involvement of profit and loss sharing (PLS) in money creation and especially how can PLS limit money creation “out of nothing.” In this regard, the authors examine the potential of the PLS principle in tackling the excessive money creation phenomenon.

This study uses a normative approach regarding Islamic bank money creation that fits Sharia directives. In fact, this study discusses “what ought to be,” that is, the values and norms of PLS money creation that impede excessive money creation.

Overall, Islamic banks create money differently compared to conventional ones. Especially, by avoiding a purely financial intermediary, money creation under the PLS principle sustains a strong relationship with the real economy and leads to a lower money multiplier. Therefore, PLS mechanisms allow financing through real assets and not credit assets “out of nothing.” This could prevent excessive money creation from causing harmful effects on indebtedness and financial instability.

PLS offers a valuable resolution for banking system money creation through the optimization of Islamic bank financing by facilitating the separation of the monetary function from the credit one. This reform thought reinforces the stability value of money allowing it to fully perform its functions with reference to the directives of Sharia. This especially allows the integrity and purchasing power of money, the reduction of the gap between the evolution of both real and financial economies and, consequently, the indebtedness and crisis. It is recommended to promote PLS financing by reforming institutional and regulatory constraints.

This study addresses the contemporary issue of money creation by Islamic banks through the PLS approach. The conceptual framework of this paper highlights the reformist role of PLS in limiting money creation through Mudarabah approach within fractional reserve banking.

Few resources exist to incorporate principles of modular approach to course design. This research aimed to help instructors by presenting principles for practical and empirically informed modular course design in engineering education.

In the first phase, a systematic literature review was completed to identify categories addressing a modular course design. Search and screening procedures resulted in 33 qualifying articles describing the development of a modular course. In the second phase, 6 expert interviews were conducted to elaborate on the identified categories.

Guided by the interview results and the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) course design model, the categories were compiled into six design principles. To present the design principles in relation to the guiding principles of modular approach, an overarching conceptual model was developed.

Here, we present our innovation; a foundation for an evidence-based systematic approach to modular course design. Implications have value for supporting flexibility and autonomy in learning.

Leveraging the mindfulness theory and the social exchange theory, this study examines the influence of perceived leader mindfulness (PLM) on turnover intentions (TOI) of non-family employees (NFEs) working in family firms. The study investigates whether the above relationship is mediated by employee perceptions of leader–member exchange quality (LMX quality) and their affective commitment (AC).

A conceptual framework is proposed that hypothesizes inverse relationship between PLM and TOI, which is posited to be mediated by both LMX quality and AC. The hypotheses are tested through survey data collected from 254 NFEs working in various family-owned businesses in Malaysia. The data analyzed through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicate that PLM has a positive influence on both LMX quality and AC. Moreover, PLM has a strong negative affect on TOI. In terms of results of mediation analysis, it appears that two mediation hypotheses out of four are significant, that is mediating effect of AC between PLM and TOI and LMX quality between PLM and AC. However, the mediating role of LMX quality between PLM and TOI and the sequential mediation hypotheses were both non-significant.

The findings of the study imply is that to ensure retention of qualified and talented NFEs, mindfulness of family firm leaders plays a significant role in ensuring lower TOI. Furthermore, such a goal is better achieved by ensuring that such employees are supported through leadership that leads to their development of better LMX quality and AC towards the organization. The study however is limited, as other potential exogenous variables that may influence TOI were not considered.

Losing employees that join a firm and acquire valuable skills and experience is a significant concern for family firms that are known for discriminating between employees related to the owners and outsiders. This study presents evidence for owners and managers of family firms that by focusing on mindful behavior and working towards developing better LMX quality and AC of NFEs, the organization can reduce TOI of such employees.

This study contributes to the under-researched and fragmented literature on relationships between PLM among NFEs and TOI of such individuals working in family firms. Moreover, this appears to be the first study that investigates mediating roles of and LMX quality and AC among NFEs in the above relationship.

This study investigates the acceptance of mobile phone technology in Tanzanian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with a special focus on service quality.

The conceptual framework was designed by extending the TAM with an additional construct, service quality, before testing a model in a survey of 155 respondents and analysing using Smart PLS 4.

Service quality was found to be among the significant factors in the acceptance of mobile phone technology among SME employees.

This implies that the higher the quality of service offered, the more employees accept and use mobile phone technology in their duties and improve the productivity of SMEs.

The aspects of quality of mobile phone technology usage such as call dropouts, network quality, speed, etc., must be improved significantly.

The Mobile Network Operators and Regulators must understand that employees are offered the most accurate and reliable mobile phone services for its usefulness to be realised.

The originality is a modified version of a TAM that accommodates service quality that has been tested in the Tanzanian context.

The effect of dynamic capabilities on operational excellence and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the relationship between operational excellence and dynamic capabilities in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka were investigated while developing new psychometric scales to assess operational excellence and dynamic capacities constructs.

We followed the exploratory sequential research design with a mixed-method research approach, aligning with the pragmatic research philosophy. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were followed.

Dynamic capabilities positively affect operational excellence, and environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between operational excellence and dynamic capabilities in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka such that when a higher environmental dynamism exists, a weaker positive relationship exists between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence. The two main dimensions of the operational excellence construct are continuous improvement of sustainable operational performance and sustainable competitive advantages. It empirically confirmed that sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities are the three main dimensions of the dynamic capabilities construct.

This study was limited to the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. This research phenomenon should be explored in other industrial sectors worldwide to generalize the findings. The practitioners in the apparel sector may improve the organizational dynamic capabilities to achieve operational excellence and keep a strong positive relationship between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence in a highly dynamic environment if they address out-of-family situations with out-of-the-box thinking.

We generated two new empirical findings: (1) dynamic capabilities positively affect operational excellence, and (2) environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence. Also, we introduced validated new scales for assessing operational excellence and dynamic capabilities.