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1 – 10 of over 1000Parin Parikh and Christopher S. Dutt
A continuous issue which plagues all service businesses is the process of handling complaints. Whilst the topic has been relatively well explored, extant literature has failed to…
Abstract
Purpose
A continuous issue which plagues all service businesses is the process of handling complaints. Whilst the topic has been relatively well explored, extant literature has failed to fully explore how staff demographics influence the methods in which they manage complaints.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was adopted with semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sample was selected, inviting managers from hotels in Dubai to share their views on factors affecting the complaint management process, including the impact of staff demographics.
Findings
Staff demographics were found to have an impact on staff's approach to handle complaints. However, participants generally felt that, with sufficient experience, the impact of many of these influences would be negated.
Originality/value
Literature on complaint management has considered numerous mitigating factors affecting the complaint management process. The impact of staff demographics on how they receive and respond to complaints has not been thoroughly explored.
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Ashley D. Lloyd, Mario Antonioletti and Terence M. Sloan
China is the world’s largest user market for digital technologies and experiencing unprecedented rates of rural-urban migration set to create the world’s first “urban billion”…
Abstract
Purpose
China is the world’s largest user market for digital technologies and experiencing unprecedented rates of rural-urban migration set to create the world’s first “urban billion”. This is an important context for studying nuanced adoption behaviours that define a digital divide. Large-scale studies are required to determine what behaviours exist in such populations, but can offer limited ability to draw inferences about why. The purpose of this paper is to report a large-scale study inside China that probes a nuanced “digital divide” behaviour: consumer demographics indicating ability to pay by electronic means but behaviour suggesting lack of willingness to do so, and extends current demographics to help explain this.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report trans-national access to commercial “Big Data” inside China capturing the demographics and consumption of millions of consumers across a wide range of physical and digital market channels. Focusing on one urban location we combine traditional demographics with a new measure that reflecting migration: “Distance from Home”, and use data-mining techniques to develop a model that predicts use behaviour.
Findings
Use behaviour is predictable. Most use is explained by value of the transaction. “Distance from Home” is more predictive of technology use than traditional demographics.
Research limitations/implications
Results suggest traditional demographics are insufficient to explain “why” use/non-use occurs and hence an insufficient basis to formulate and target government policy.
Originality/value
The authors understand this to be the first large-scale trans-national study of use/non-use of digital channels within China, and the first study of the impact of distance on ICT adoption.
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Josep Garcia-Blandon, Josep Argilés-Bosch and Diego Ravenda
This study aims to investigate whether chief executive officer (CEO) demographics are associated with gender diversity in senior management in the Scandinavia region.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether chief executive officer (CEO) demographics are associated with gender diversity in senior management in the Scandinavia region.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design draws on multivariate cross-sectional analysis. The demographic characteristics examined are gender, age and education. A total of six hypotheses are developed and tested. The sample includes the largest 106 public firms from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Findings
Results show that firms with female CEOs have more women in senior management than other firms. However, neither age nor level of formal education of CEOs shows significant results, with the exception of CEOs holding MBA degrees, who are associated with fewer women in these positions. Interestingly, the association between educational background and gender diversity is principally driven by study-abroad experiences. Finally, results show that gender diversity in senior management has an important country component, whereas the industry component is negligible.
Originality/value
The relationship between managers’ demographics and gender diversity among subordinates is a relatively unexplored research issue, as previous works have focused on general comparisons between male and female managers. Furthermore, the Scandinavian context is particularly interesting as this region leads gender equality rankings.
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Neha Keshan, Kathleen Fontaine and James A. Hendler
This paper aims to describe the “InDO: Institute Demographic Ontology” and demonstrates the InDO-based semiautomated process for both generating and extending a knowledge graph to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the “InDO: Institute Demographic Ontology” and demonstrates the InDO-based semiautomated process for both generating and extending a knowledge graph to provide a comprehensive resource for marginalized US graduate students. The knowledge graph currently consists of instances related to the semistructured National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates (NSF SED) 2019 analysis report data tables. These tables contain summary statistics of an institute’s doctoral recipients based on a variety of demographics. Incorporating institute Wikidata links ultimately produces a table of unique, clearly readable data.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a customized semantic extract transform and loader (SETLr) script to ingest data from 2019 US doctoral-granting institute tables and preprocessed NSF SED Tables 1, 3, 4 and 9. The generated InDO knowledge graph is evaluated using two methods. First, the authors compare competency questions’ sparql results from both the semiautomatically and manually generated graphs. Second, the authors expand the questions to provide a better picture of an institute’s doctoral-recipient demographics within study fields.
Findings
With some preprocessing and restructuring of the NSF SED highly interlinked tables into a more parsable format, one can build the required knowledge graph using a semiautomated process.
Originality/value
The InDO knowledge graph allows the integration of US doctoral-granting institutes demographic data based on NSF SED data tables and presentation in machine-readable form using a new semiautomated methodology.
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Annelot Wismans, Peter van der Zwan and Roy Thurik
Lockdowns and the forced closure of certain industries during the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted workers, particularly entrepreneurs, who were financially and emotionally…
Abstract
Purpose
Lockdowns and the forced closure of certain industries during the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted workers, particularly entrepreneurs, who were financially and emotionally involved in their businesses. Two studies have shown that entrepreneurs have a lower willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 than employees. In this study, the authors try to replicate the vaccination gap between the two groups. Second, the authors study whether the difference persists when controlling for demographics, vaccination attitudes and the COVID-19 context, including the financial impact of the pandemic, its effect on the wellbeing of workers, and government attitudes. Third, the authors study whether there are differences in how the context of the pandemic relates to vaccination willingness for entrepreneurs and employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct regression analyses using three large datasets. The authors study vaccination status (February 2022) in a 27-country Eurobarometer sample, vaccination intention (December 2020) in a Dutch sample from the LISS panel and vaccination status (July 2021) in a sample from the Understanding America Study (UAS).
Findings
All datasets confirm that entrepreneurs have lower vaccination intention and coverage than employees. Even when controlling for the variables described in the LISS and UAS datasets, this negative difference remains. The study results also indicate that demographics, especially vaccination attitudes, are much more important than contextual influences in the decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Originality/value
The authors are the first to dive further into the vaccination differences between entrepreneurs and employees. They advise further research into the drivers of this gap, specifically relating to the role of personality and social normative influences.
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The Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS) program of the UP Open University (UPOU) expects its graduates to attain both theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the…
Abstract
The Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS) program of the UP Open University (UPOU) expects its graduates to attain both theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the field of multimedia and ICT. Facilitating skills-oriented learning commonly involves a hands-on approach. While it was the initial intention to deploy production courses in residential mode, the realities of UPOU's student demographics prohibit its implementation. In turn, these courses must be deployed in such a way that it would be possible for students to take the entire course online and perhaps level the playing field with the students who are able to more often interact face to face with the course facilitator through the use of various tools and methods for online learning. This study documents the implementation of one such course: Photography in Multimedia. The study also looked into the socio-demographics and performance of the 37 students enrolled in the course during Summer2010 and how it relates to the level of class participation of the student based on the model/ICT employed. The students were also asked to accomplish a survey at the end of the course regarding course implementation and ICT use for learning. Results showed that while majority of the students considered face to face sessions as beneficial, poor academic performance could not be attributed to failure to participate in these sessions. By the end of the course, all 37 students cited self-improvements in different aspects of photography, most notably the awareness of principles and technical knowhow. Results of the facilitator's assessment alluded to the same finding. It is therefore concluded that while face to face sessions remain as an invaluable tool in handling a production course, it is still possible, through the use of various tools, for a student to learn and even excel in a fully online mode.
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Yvonne Ziegler, Regine Graml, Kristine Khachatryan and Vincenzo Uli
The second Frankfurt Career Study was conducted in 2017 in East and West Germany to analyze the impact of motherhood on female professional advancement in the specific national…
Abstract
Purpose
The second Frankfurt Career Study was conducted in 2017 in East and West Germany to analyze the impact of motherhood on female professional advancement in the specific national context of Germany. In addition, this study aims to present a unique perspective of the similarities and dissimilarities between the Western and Eastern parts of the country.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is presented as a three-stage statistical approach based on quantitative data generated from a survey conducted among 2,130 working mothers. In the first step, the authors performed a multiple correspondence analysis to explore the relationships between important categorical variables. Using the object scores obtained in the first step, we then ran a hierarchical cluster analysis, followed by the third and last step: using the k-means clustering method to partition the survey respondents into groups.
Findings
The authors found that working mothers in Germany are distributed according to four clusters mainly described by demographics and orientation toward work. East Germany has been found as a more egalitarian context than West Germany with respect to family system arrangements. However, the upper bound of the sample in West Germany presented an atypical female breadwinner model in high-performance households.
Originality/value
The authors want to contribute to previous investigations on the topic by providing a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon, especially comparing the two different family systems and social norms from the Eastern and Western parts of the country. The authors ask whether and how career perspectives and female labor supply are influenced by drivers such as work–family conflict determinants, working mothers demographics, partner support and employer support.
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Ali Farashah and Tomas Blomqusit
This paper empirically explores the types and extent of cultural diversity strategies in Sweden, a developed economy with many migrant workers. The role of organizational culture…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper empirically explores the types and extent of cultural diversity strategies in Sweden, a developed economy with many migrant workers. The role of organizational culture as the context and the association with diversity strategy and the selection of international skilled migrant workers are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data are collected by surveying 249 Swedish large or medium-sized firms. Cluster analysis is used to explore the configuration of organizational culture, cultural diversity strategy (CDS) and selection and development criteria.
Findings
The authors identify five clusters of organizations. Organizational culture is the main contextual factor that influences the CDS and human resource (HR) approaches for selecting skilled migrant workers. The profile of the clusters including organizational culture, diversity strategies, the selection criteria and firm demographics is presented. The empirical results indicate that organizational culture and demographics are associated with the choice of diversity strategy and, consequently, HR processes.
Originality/value
This study's main focus is on international skilled migrants, which is among empirically less-studied areas in global mobility literature. Furthermore, until now more attention has been directed toward studying the consequences of diversity than toward understanding the factors that influence choice of diversity strategies and practices. This study focuses on antecedents of diversity and attempts to understand the factors that influence adoption and implementation of different cultural diversity strategies.
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Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron, Steven Zhou, Alec Campbell, Elizabeth Schierbeek and Kailee Kodama Muscente
The purpose of this study was to explore how variables such as student demographics, pre-college leadership activities, and perceived pre-college parenting behaviors predict…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore how variables such as student demographics, pre-college leadership activities, and perceived pre-college parenting behaviors predict students’ leader self-efficacy (i.e., individuals’ confidence in themselves to lead and belief that others will support their leadership [Hannah et al., 2008]) in college and leader emergence (i.e., college-based leadership involvements [DeRue & Ashford, 2010]) in college. Undergraduate students (n = 420) at a large, public university in the Mid-Atlantic were surveyed to examine these relationships and data were analyzed using hierarchical and logistic regression, with appropriate controls and moderators. Findings included discovery that pre-college engagement with sports team positional leadership, community service, extracurriculars, and positive parenting behaviors, such as family routine and greater quality time with parents, predicted leader self-efficacy. Further, findings noted that pre-college community service, extracurriculars, peer tutoring and perceptions of parental quality time and proactive parenting predicted leader emergence. This study suggests that students’ leadership development is influenced by myriad systems across the lifespan and demonstrates that, as educators committed to student development, we must engage the full arc of our students’ leadership journeys and provide for intentional partnerships between higher education and the K-12 community.
Gunnar Lindqvist and Joakim Kävrestad
The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there is a lower willingness to report a crime if a victim must hand in their mobile phone as evidence. If that is the case, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there is a lower willingness to report a crime if a victim must hand in their mobile phone as evidence. If that is the case, the research seeks to examine whether privacy concerns and lower willingness correlate with one another and thereby investigate whether privacy concerns could lead to fewer crimes being reported and resolved.
Design/methodology/approach
A mobile phone survey was distributed to 400 Swedish adults to identify their hypothetical willingness to report certain crimes with and without handing in their mobile phones as evidence. The results were then analysed using inferential statistics.
Findings
The result suggests that there is no meaningful correlation between privacy attitudes and willingness to report crime when the handover of a mobile phone is necessary. The results of this study however show a significant lower willingness to report crimes when the mobile phone must be handed in.
Research limitations/implications
Because the chosen target group were Swedish adults, the research results may lack generalisability for other demographics. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test other demographics.
Originality/value
This paper’s contribution is the novel exploration of attitudes and behaviours regarding the combination of privacy, digital forensics, mobile phones and crime reportage. This research effort examined the problematic situation that can arise for victims of crime, the invasion of privacy when providing evidence by handing in a mobile phone to the police’s forensic unit for examination.
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