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Book part
Publication date: 20 October 2011

Graham Currie and Alexa Delbosc

Purpose — This chapter provides an overview of contemporary perspectives on transport disadvantage. Definitions of transport disadvantage from the literature are brought together…

Abstract

Purpose — This chapter provides an overview of contemporary perspectives on transport disadvantage. Definitions of transport disadvantage from the literature are brought together and differing frameworks are discussed. The chapter also examines research topics concerning forced car ownership and coping behaviours related to transport disadvantage.

Methodology — Methodology concerns the review of existing research literature.

Findings — Transport disadvantage is a complex, multidimensional construct brought about by the interaction between land use patterns, the transport system and individual circumstances. Although the majority of literature focuses on transport disadvantage imposed by not owning a car, research into ‘forced’ car ownership suggests that the high costs of owning and running a car can impose transport disadvantage through financial stress. Using alternative modes to the car, getting lifts or restricting travel and access are common coping strategies to deal with transport disadvantage.

Details

New Perspectives and Methods in Transport and Social Exclusion Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78-052200-5

Book part
Publication date: 2 September 2010

J. Ramachandran and Anirvan Pant

We contend that the concept of liability of foreignness is inadequate to describe the set of disadvantages faced by emerging economy multinational enterprises (MNEs) in…

Abstract

We contend that the concept of liability of foreignness is inadequate to describe the set of disadvantages faced by emerging economy multinational enterprises (MNEs) in international markets. In order to address this theoretical gap, we develop the concept of “liabilities of origin” (LOR). We propose that the concept of LOR explains how the national origins of the MNE shape its disadvantages in international markets through three distinctive contexts of the MNE's ongoing activity: the home country context, the host country context, and the organizational context. We argue that in order to understand how emerging economy MNEs overcome their LOR, we need to engage simultaneously with the theoretical perspectives provided by the institutional entrepreneurship and organizational identity literatures. We suggest, further, that the concept of LOR may be useful to understand the character of MNE disadvantage in any international foray where the national origins of the MNE engender legitimacy-based and capability-based disadvantages for the MNE in a host country.

Details

The Past, Present and Future of International Business & Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-085-9

Book part
Publication date: 28 May 2019

Jorrit van Mierlo, Raymond Loohuis and Tanya Bondarouk

Large corporate policy changes usually take the form of a top-down approach based on a clearly envisioned routine and an implementation plan. Yet, the authors report on a study of…

Abstract

Large corporate policy changes usually take the form of a top-down approach based on a clearly envisioned routine and an implementation plan. Yet, the authors report on a study of a bottom-up approach in which key members of a service company created a new hiring routine that supported a company-wide new human resource management (HRM) hiring policy without any prior envisioned plan. We pay particularly close attention to the perspectives of this company’s HRM professionals, line managers, and middle-level managers. The authors used the literature on routine dynamics to examine in detail which actions were taken by key members in this organization to create the new hiring routine. Through in-depth interviews, the authors found that line managers, HRM professionals, and middle-level managers significantly differed in their points of view regarding their role in the new hiring routine, and how it should work best. As a result of these different points of view, the actors took different actions that nonetheless contributed to building the new routine including creating new internal and external connections, supplying expertise, and ensuring oversight of the new way of hiring. The authors also observed that the creation of this new routine also implied conflicts as a result of different points of view and actions. Nonetheless, the end result was the establishment of a new company-wide accepted hiring routine that even surpassed the expectations of top management. With this study, the authors contribute to the literature on routine dynamics by demonstrating the generative potential of multiple points of view and conflicts in creating new routines involved in large corporate policy change by showing how misalignments between the actors’ perspectives do not need to hamper the creation of new action patterns but rather support it.

Details

Routine Dynamics in Action: Replication and Transformation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-585-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 October 2011

Alexa Delbosc and Graham Currie

Purpose — In this chapter, a series of disaggregated analyses are undertaken to better understand the component nature of transport disadvantage, its variation across geographic…

Abstract

Purpose — In this chapter, a series of disaggregated analyses are undertaken to better understand the component nature of transport disadvantage, its variation across geographic locations and its impact on specific social groups. The first section describes the process used to form the four sub-scales of transport disadvantage used in section 5.1.4.1 of Chapter 5.1. The second section compares the transport characteristics experienced in four geographic areas: inner urban, outer urban and fringe Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Methodology — Self-reported transport disadvantage is disaggregated into four factors using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The characteristics of these four factors and the differences between geographic locations are compared in tabular form with t-tests and chi-square analyses used to assess statistical significance. Some correlation analyses are also used.

Findings — Transport disadvantage characteristics that make people vulnerable/impaired or rely on others have the greatest impacts on well-being. The strongest relationships between transport disadvantage and well-being are experienced in regional and fringe urban areas.

Details

New Perspectives and Methods in Transport and Social Exclusion Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78-052200-5

Book part
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Samppa Kamara, Ahmad Arslan and Desislava Dikova

The current chapter is one of the first studies to specifically address the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) for entrepreneurship development in the disadvantaged

Abstract

The current chapter is one of the first studies to specifically address the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) for entrepreneurship development in the disadvantaged context of Sierra Leone. It highlights the important role of CSOs in the petty trading (disadvantaged) entrepreneurial ecosystem. Based on qualitative analysis of interviewers undertaken with two CSOs and three entrepreneurial firms from disadvantaged backgrounds, our findings offer interesting insights into this phenomenon. The authors find that in the context of disadvantaged entrepreneurship development, CSOs are seen as more trustworthy by the general population than the government (public bodies). The government, through the national youth commission, also tried to collaborate with CSOs regarding entrepreneurial skills development in disadvantaged entrepreneurs. The findings further reveal that despite the appreciation of the role of CSOs for disadvantaged entrepreneurship development by public authorities in recent years, they still face many bureaucratic hurdles and delays in operations. Finally, our chapter reveals several dynamics associated with skills and competencies development in disadvantaged entrepreneurship in the Sierra Leone-specific context, where skills such as basic business planning, livestock handling, and financial management emerge as being highly useful.

Details

Disadvantaged Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-450-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis and Otilia Chiramba

This qualitative study interrogates the barriers that historically disadvantaged higher education students in South Africa face when it comes to access and success. It…

Abstract

Purpose

This qualitative study interrogates the barriers that historically disadvantaged higher education students in South Africa face when it comes to access and success. It specifically explores the challenges black students encounter in gaining epistemic access within the South African higher education system.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws upon empirical data collected from a mixed-methods research project conducted at six higher education institutions. It focuses on issues of epistemic access and success within humanities and sciences faculties. The dataset comprises interview transcripts involving 34 student and ten staff cases. Thematic analysis, aided by MaxQDA software, was meticulously conducted to extract and synthesise meaningful themes, crafting comprehensive narratives.

Findings

The study uncovers multifaceted challenges, including difficulties in understanding the admission process, financial barriers and language proficiency issues, faced by disadvantaged students when accessing universities and transitioning from basic to higher education. The research emphasises universities taking proactive measures, such as providing comprehensive early support, identifying at-risk students and collaborating with schools to prepare prospective students better. It advocates for the potential of resilience theory in addressing social justice issues related to access and success for these students. Furthermore, the study recommends developing inclusive curricula and underscores the need for universities to actively support disadvantaged students academically and socially.

Originality/value

This research departs from the conventional focus on physical access to universities, introducing a more comprehensive perspective that emphasises epistemic access as a pivotal aspect of higher education. Drawing on empirical data, it sheds light on the obstacles faced by disadvantaged students during the transition from high school to higher education while also exploring their resilience strategies.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2022

Michelle Richey, Jade Brooks and M. N. Ravishankar

This paper examines how entrepreneurship focused programs build capacities for disadvantaged groups to pursue more dignified lives. The struggles of disadvantaged entrepreneurs…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines how entrepreneurship focused programs build capacities for disadvantaged groups to pursue more dignified lives. The struggles of disadvantaged entrepreneurs against pronounced structural constraints are well documented, but less is known about how targeted programs of entrepreneurship focused support change the status quo for disadvantaged communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is grounded in a mainly inductive, interpretive study and explores the work of an entrepreneurship focused program targeted at refugee participants. The paper reports on intensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews with 23 program participants in London, UK.

Findings

The empirical sections elaborate three key mechanisms supporting greater self-determination and better opportunities: building entrepreneurial intention, building contextual legitimacy and building proximal ties. These mechanisms empower disadvantaged groups to pursue a wide variety of meaningful goals, including but not limited to starting a business.

Originality/value

This paper draws attention to problems of over-emphasizing the disadvantaged entrepreneurs' agency. It uses the vocabulary of self-determination theory (SDT) and offers a psychosocial perspective of the consequences of disadvantage and the potential for entrepreneurship focused programs to build key capacities and improve precarious lives.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 28 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2022

Aleksandra Zivaljevic, Katarina Zakic and Vuk Bevanda

This study aims to provide information on particular combination of benefits or disadvantages with exact timing of their appearance in the company after its first certification…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide information on particular combination of benefits or disadvantages with exact timing of their appearance in the company after its first certification, along with the information on the value range each benefit and disadvantage would take, as well as on the duration period of expected values.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey was conducted from October 2015 to January 2019 in 306 certified companies with respondent rate of 58.82%. A questionnaire, structured using literature review to identify all possible benefits and disadvantages of QMS, was used to determine the time of appearance, value range and duration of each identified benefit or disadvantage. Results were used to define indicators for fully applied QMS in each age of its maturity, then the indicators were verified using the records of two ISO certified companies.

Findings

There is a difference in the set of benefits and disadvantages in companies with fully implemented QMS and those that are using QMS only to maintain the certificate. In each age of QMS application a specific set of benefits and disadvantages can be expected as well as the volume range of each of them. These timely sets of benefits and disadvantages can be used as indicators to distinguish well-implemented QMS from those partially implemented.

Research limitations/implications

The sample consists of companies from Balkan area, therefore economy, politics and culture could have influenced results, predominantly regarding the value ranges of some benefits and disadvantages.

Practical implications

Companies which already have implemented or are about to implement QMS may use results of the research to plan its effects in years ahead, concerning costs and profit dynamics, as well as to prepare themselves for upcoming probable issues. Auditors can use results in addition to certification criteria to determine the level of QMS implementation and to forecast whether audited company would keep the certificate in the future.

Social implications

Supply chain management could use research findings in selection of chain members to support and speed up third party audits since the benefits and disadvantages of fully implemented QMS are known for each QMS age. This would further imply better structure of supply chains, which would consequently lead to lower production costs, higher quality and competitive prices at the market, which has beneficial implications on the whole society.

Originality/value

For each age of QMS maturity, starting from the first year of certification, expected combination of benefits and disadvantages along with its expected value range and duration are defined. A set of indicators with their expected values.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Vicente Peñarroja

Previous research has focused on the outcomes of telework, investigating the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking for employees. However, these investigations do not…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous research has focused on the outcomes of telework, investigating the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking for employees. However, these investigations do not examine whether there are differences between teleworkers when evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking. The aim of this study is to identify of distinct classes of teleworkers based on the advantages and disadvantages that teleworking has for them.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used secondary survey data collected by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). A sample of 842 people was used for this study. To identify the distinct classes of teleworkers, their perceived advantages and disadvantages of teleworking were analyzed using latent class analysis.

Findings

Three different classes of teleworkers were distinguished. Furthermore, sociodemographic covariates were incorporated into the latent class model, revealing that the composition of the classes varied in terms of education level, household income, and the amount of time spent on teleworking per week. This study also examined the influence of these emergent classes on employees’ experience of teleworking.

Originality/value

This study contributes to previous research investigating if telework is advantageous or disadvantageous for teleworkers, acknowledging that teleworkers are not identical and may respond differently to teleworking.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2004

Lucy Woodliffe

This paper provides insight into the behaviour and attitudes of an under‐researched group of consumers, and identifies some useful pointers for future research on consumer…

4238

Abstract

This paper provides insight into the behaviour and attitudes of an under‐researched group of consumers, and identifies some useful pointers for future research on consumer disadvantage. More specifically, the paper explores the relationships between the potential causes of consumer disadvantage, forms of consumer disadvantage and accessibility. The exploratory study consisted of a combination of quantitative (diary survey) and qualitative (semi‐structured interviews) methods. The diary survey data were used to measure grocery retailing accessibility for each participant, while the semi‐structured interviews captured participants’ attitudes, preferences and expectations with regard to grocery shopping, which were then used to construct a context for the accessibility findings. The findings suggest a way in which consumer disadvantage can be conceptualised, recommend the use of qualitative methods when researching this area, and highlight issues of interest (such as identifying whether an individual shops through choice or constraint) which could be considered by future research designs.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 32 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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