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1 – 10 of over 5000Lisa Engström, Hanna Carlsson and Fredrik Hanell
The purpose of the paper is to produce new knowledge about the positions that public libraries both take and are given in the conflicts over politics and identity that play out in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to produce new knowledge about the positions that public libraries both take and are given in the conflicts over politics and identity that play out in contemporary cultural and library policy debates. Using conflicts over drag story hour at public libraries as case, the study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research that delves into the challenges that public libraries as promoters of democracy are confronting in the conflictual political landscape of today.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an analysis of debates reported in news articles concerning Drag story hour events held at Swedish public libraries. Utilizing the analytical lenses of discourse theory and plural agonistics, the analysis serves to make visible the lines of conflicts drawn in these debates – particularly focusing on the intersection of different meanings ascribed to the notion of the reading child, and how fear is constructed and used as an othering devise in these conflicts.
Findings
Different imaginings of the reading child and the construction and imagination of fear and safety shapes the Drag story hour debates. The controversies can be understood as a challenge to the previous hegemony regarding the direction and goals of Swedish cultural and library policy and the pluralistic democratic society these policies are meant to promote.
Originality/value
The paper offers new insights into the consequences of the revival of radical right politics, populism and societal polarization, and the different responses from public libraries.
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Bernard Arthur-Aidoo, Princess Naa Kwarkai Quartey, Perry Ransgreg Nunoo and Alex Kwaku Adzinku
Creating our built environment is largely the responsibility of the dynamic and complex construction industry. This business is made up of a wide range of people who work together…
Abstract
Creating our built environment is largely the responsibility of the dynamic and complex construction industry. This business is made up of a wide range of people who work together to construct buildings and infrastructure projects, from contractors and labourers to architects and engineers. Aside from its observable results, the construction sector has a particular culture and atmosphere that are formed by a special fusion of history, creativity and teamwork. The culture and environment in which the construction industry functions are the main topics of this section of the book.
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Sara Campo, Galia Fuchs and Maria D. Álvarez
This study aims to investigate how feelings for a country influence visitation to conflict-ridden destinations. It also examines the moderating effect of communications – news…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how feelings for a country influence visitation to conflict-ridden destinations. It also examines the moderating effect of communications – news about terror or pictures of the place’s attractions – and whether the pictures counteract the damaging news.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the influence that feelings for a country have on visitation intentions, via the destination’s perceived risk and overall image. Furthermore, an experimental design is used to test the moderating influence of two communications stimuli. The sample consists of 309 individuals from the USA who were randomly exposed to various stimuli.
Findings
The findings confirm that feelings for the country shape risk perceptions, overall destination image and visitation intentions. Communications moderate the influence of these emotions. In addition, pictures of the destination’s attractions mitigate the adverse effect of negative news.
Research limitations/implications
The investigation focuses on Turkey, a popular tourist destination, despite being subject to biases due to its geopolitical situation and ongoing armed conflict. The findings suggest that conflict-ridden destination managers should understand and use emotions, distinguishing between country and destination, while emphasizing the place’s attractions with visual communications to counter negative country reports.
Originality/value
This research contributes a comprehensive model that explains the impact that feelings for a country have on visitation decisions, highlighting the mediating role of risk perceptions and destination image. Furthermore, the study underlines the moderating role of communications, both positive and negative, that shape the effect of the emotions on the studied variables.
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Kristijan Mirkovski, Kamel Rouibah, Paul Lowry, Joanna Paliszkiewicz and Marzena Ganc
Despite the major information technology investments made by public institutions, the reuse of e-government services remains an issue as citizens hesitate to use e-government…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the major information technology investments made by public institutions, the reuse of e-government services remains an issue as citizens hesitate to use e-government websites regularly. The purpose of this study is to investigate the cross-country determinants of e-government reuse intention by proposing a theoretical model that integrates constructs from (1) the Delone and McLean IS success model (i.e. system quality, service quality, information quality, perceived value and user satisfaction); (2) the trust and risk models (i.e. citizen trust, overall risk, time risk, privacy risk and psychological risks); and (3) Hofstede's cultural model (i.e. uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism and cross-cultural trust and risk).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data from interviews with 81 Kuwaiti citizens and surveys of 1,829 Kuwaiti and Polish citizens, this study conducted comprehensive, cross-cultural and comparative analyses of e-government reuse intention in a cross-country setting.
Findings
The results show that trust is positively associated with citizens' intention to reuse e-government services, whereas risk is negatively associated with citizens' perceived value. This study also found that masculinity–femininity and uncertainty avoidance are positively associated with the intention to reuse e-government services and that individualism–collectivism has no significant relationship with reuse intention. This study's findings have important implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand and improve e-government success in cross-country settings.
Originality/value
This study developed a parsimonious model of quality, trust, risk, culture and technology reuse that captures country-specific cultural contexts and enables us to conduct a comprehensive, cross-cultural and comparative analysis of e-government reuse intention in the cross-country setting of Kuwait and Poland.
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Yuan Chen, Ziyue Yang, Bingsheng Liu, Dan Wang, Yan Xiao and Anmin Wang
This study aims to investigate the influence mechanism of expatriates' cultural intelligence (CQ) on expatriate effectiveness (task performance and premature return intention)…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence mechanism of expatriates' cultural intelligence (CQ) on expatriate effectiveness (task performance and premature return intention), identifying work engagement as a mediator and cultural distance as a boundary condition.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the conservation of resource theory and the person–environment fit (P–E fit) theory, a moderated mediation model is built. Working with a sample of 303 international construction expatriates collected by snowball sampling, the hypotheses are tested by using the structural equation model analysis.
Findings
Work engagement partially mediates the relationship between expatriates' CQ and task performance, as well as fully mediates the relationship between expatriates' CQ and premature return intention. Cultural distance moderates the positive relationship between CQ and work engagement, as well as moderates the mediating effects of work engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The impacts of potential moderators (e.g. work–family conflict and organizational culture) on the relationship between CQ and expatriate effectiveness have not been considered in this study.
Practical implications
This study is useful for international construction firms to optimize the allocation of human resources.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the expatriate literature by adding empirical evidence to explain the influence mechanism of expatriates' CQ on expatriate effectiveness.
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Seda Özcan and Bengü Sevil Oflaç
In business-to-business interactions, conflicts are inevitable, and conflict-handling strategies that consider different variables improve the decision-making process of actors…
Abstract
Purpose
In business-to-business interactions, conflicts are inevitable, and conflict-handling strategies that consider different variables improve the decision-making process of actors. This study aims to reveal the role of power and criticality in conflict-handling research in logistics service networks.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 Ă— 2 between-subject experimental design with four different scenarios was used. One hundred sixty logistics service actors completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and paired sample t-tests using the SPSS 28.0 program.
Findings
In comparative scenarios involving high and low power dynamics, individuals with high power and high criticality situations are more inclined to favor the dominating strategy compared to low-power and low-criticality contexts. However, when faced with specific circumstances characterized by both high power and high criticality, actors tend to prioritize the integrating strategy initially, followed by the dominating and obliging strategies in that order. Notably, the statistical analysis revealed no significant interaction effect between criticality and power concerning the integrating, obliging and dominating conflict-handling strategies.
Originality/value
This study used an experimental approach to investigate criticality and power as contextual elements in determining conflict-handling strategies in an inter-firm environment within logistics service networks. This study is particularly groundbreaking in its knowledge of the relationship among power dynamics, conflict criticality and conflict-handling strategies.
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Muhammad Zada, Jawad Khan, Imran Saeed and Shagufta Zada
This study investigates the link between servant leadership and project management effectiveness in developmental projects in non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Further, this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the link between servant leadership and project management effectiveness in developmental projects in non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Further, this study examined the mediating role of conflict resolution and moderating role of organisational culture.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-wave survey of 288 non-governmental organisation (NGO) employees was used to evaluate the hypotheses. Hierarchical regression analysis and Hayes' PROCESS macro technique were used for data analysis.
Findings
In this study, servant leadership positively affects employee project management effectiveness in developmental projects in NGOs, and conflict resolution mediates the relationship. Furthermore, the results show that organisational culture moderates the positive relationship between servant leadership and employee project management effectiveness. Moreover, the authors investigated the hypotheses via a moderation mediation model. The strength of the mediated link between servant leadership and project management effectiveness (via conflict resolution) depends on organisational culture strength.
Practical implications
Leaders that practice servant leadership care for their employees genuinely and serve them by allowing them to make their own decisions. Every organisation may benefit from this leadership style since it encourages project effectiveness
Originality/value
New empirical data from this study suggests that servant leadership positively and substantially affects employee project management effectiveness in developmental projects in NGOs.
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Mehedi Hasan Khan and Jiafei Jin
This study advances ethnocentric behaviour research by exploring its impact on individuals' work disengagement in multicultural work settings. Ethnocentrism research focused…
Abstract
Purpose
This study advances ethnocentric behaviour research by exploring its impact on individuals' work disengagement in multicultural work settings. Ethnocentrism research focused mainly on consumer ethnocentric behaviour but did not consider the role of employees’ ethnocentric behaviour in the multicultural workplace. This study aims to address this gap by utilizing social identity theory. The authors propose that ethnocentric behaviour has an impact on employee work disengagement and also affects social undermining and workplace conflict as an outcome.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used cross-sectional data (N = 326) collected from employees working for Chinese multinational firms in Bangladesh. The authors used Likert-type scale to collect data. To check the hypothesis, the authors employed Hayes' PROCESS macro 4.0v.
Findings
The authors found that employee ethnocentric behaviour positively impacts workers' work disengagement. Ethnocentric behaviour positively affects social undermining and workplace conflict, whereas social undermining and workplace conflict partially mediate the indirect effects of ethnocentrism on work disengagement. The authors also found that core self-evaluation (CSE) weakens the indirect impact of ethnocentrism on work disengagement through social undermining and workplace conflict.
Practical implications
The authors recommend that organizations recruit employees with positive CSE and provide cultural sensitivity training to reduce ethnocentrism in the culturally diverse workplace.
Originality/value
This study is a unique effort to examine the influence of employees’ ethnocentric conduct by employing social identity theory in the emerging economy subsidiaries of multinational businesses operating in developing countries. This study also addressed the moderating effect of employees' CSE. This adds a unique dimension to ethnocentrism and employee work disengagement research. The authors have also discussed the future research avenue, theoretical and practical implications in detail.
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Ashwini Nadkarni and Fiona Fennessy
In this case study, the authors aimed to investigate the usefulness of five interactive workshops on leadership skills relevant to academic physicians for their professional…
Abstract
Purpose
In this case study, the authors aimed to investigate the usefulness of five interactive workshops on leadership skills relevant to academic physicians for their professional fulfillment. Workshops were led by experts in finance, negotiation, business administration and digital tools and enhanced a practical understanding of skills in 1) financial investment; 2) growing clout on social media; 3) negotiation; 4) navigating institutional culture as a woman; and 5) conflict management.
Design/methodology/approach
Workshops were deployed to faculty in the departments of Radiology and Psychiatry. Attendance at seminars was captured, categorized as in-person (when offered), virtual-live or virtual-recording views post hoc. The authors also collected responses to a brief, 5-question survey which assessed faculty familiarity with the topic pre-and post-seminar and evaluated the perceived relevance of the topic to professional fulfillment.
Findings
The highest attendance was for the seminar on financial investments, and the lowest attendance was for that on conflict management. The seminar that the highest proportion of respondents deemed important as a leadership skill was on the topic of navigating institutional culture as a woman in the workplace. The seminar that focused on cultivating clout on social media was the seminar that the highest proportion of respondents deemed worth attending.
Originality/value
From this case study, the authors learned that financial literacy, discerning institutional culture, managing conflicts, negotiating and using digital tools are topics which have relevance to physician professional fulfillment. Such topics could be valuable as the building blocks for future programs which provide leadership training to physicians.
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Chenxi Wang, Xiaoxi Chang, Yu Zhou and Huaiqian Zhu
The paper aims to clarify the relationship between organizational work-family practices and employee work-family conflict in light of the boundary conditions of commitment-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to clarify the relationship between organizational work-family practices and employee work-family conflict in light of the boundary conditions of commitment-based human resource management (HRM) and employee human capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opted for a multi-source, multi-level design and surveyed 1,717 individuals (including CEOs, HR managers and employees) from 159 firms in China. The model was tested using hierarchical linear modeling.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights that the effect of work-family practices on work-family conflict is indispensably dependent on the adoption of commitment-based HRM. In addition, employee human capital further moderated this interaction in that the effect of work-family practices on reducing work-family conflict was most salient with high-education employees who were embedded in a high-commitment HRM system.
Research limitations/implications
Testing the hypotheses in the Chinese context has both its merits and drawbacks. Specific results are pursuant to the Chinese context. Therefore, a cross-cultural comparative study is called upon.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for organizations striving to minimize employee work-family conflict.
Originality/value
This paper primarily applies the resource-building perspective to examine the synergistic effects of organizational resources (targeting work-family practices together with general commitment-based HRM) and individual intellectual resources (human capital) on employee work family conflict.
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