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Article
Publication date: 19 April 2024

Elizabeth Addy, Isaac Ayitey and Emmanuel S. Adabor

The purpose of the study is to identify barriers to collaboration among female administrators at a Ghanaian technical university (TU), based on the social identity theory (SIT).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to identify barriers to collaboration among female administrators at a Ghanaian technical university (TU), based on the social identity theory (SIT).

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method approach was adopted, integrating qualitative interviews of 15 female administrators and completing structured questionnaires from 117 randomly sampled female administrators. The SIT, as the analytical framework, identified themes emerging from the data on barriers to collaboration among female administrators. While exploratory factor analysis identified measures of factors hindering collaborations, the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) enabled the confirmation of relationships among the barriers to collaboration with female administrators.

Findings

There existed statistically significant relationships between four of the barriers: intergroup relations conflict, trust with stakeholders and among females and structural barriers (SBs). For the quantitative analysis, it was found that SBs, intergroup relations, conflict and trust were statistically significant except for weak cultures. For the qualitative, results showed that SBs, lack of trust with stakeholders and among females and intergroup conflict hinder collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

The study has a limited scope in using only one TU and focusing on a particular gender. The implications of this research will enrich the literature on barriers to female administrative collaboration in technical education based on the SIT.

Practical implications

Promoting administrative collaborations in the TU will ensure sustainability and efficient administrative systems.

Social implications

Institutional policies should include gender inclusivity and equality on networking opportunities and provide mentorship programs for efficient administrative systems.

Originality/value

We used the SIT to determine barriers to collaboration among female administrators in a technical education institution, and the mixed methodology added a unique dimension to the study.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2023

Ganghua Chen, Siqi Bie, Carol Zhang and Zhenghuan Li

This study aims to contribute to social identity theory in tourism by exploring the reflections of Chinese tourists visiting North Korea and how they negotiate their intergroup…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to contribute to social identity theory in tourism by exploring the reflections of Chinese tourists visiting North Korea and how they negotiate their intergroup identity in this similar-others destination.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via online platforms and in-depth interviews. A qualitative approach, i.e. thematic analysis, was used to analyse the two sets of data.

Findings

Results showed that when encountering North Koreans perceived as similar others amid the social, economic and political environments in which they were embedded, Chinese tourists often categorised themselves as ordinary tourists, preferentially treated tourists and vicarious tourists based on intergroup similarities to North Koreans. They also performed intergroup comparison to boost their self-esteem at group and collective levels and developed corresponding strategies to generate distinct emotional group commitments.

Practical implications

It is recommended that destinations reinforce the friendly and unique relationship with their similar-others source markets to improve their attractiveness. Destinations should also strive to enhance the experience of tourists from their similar-others markets by arousing their positive collective-level affection, emotional resonance and nostalgic memories and avoiding negative emotions.

Originality/value

This study offers a theoretical framework analysing the features of tourists’ social identities while visiting a similar-others destination, contributing to our understanding of the interactive and contingency nature of social identity in tourism, and responding to the call for addressing the broader social contexts in which tourists’ group identity is embedded.

目的

本文致力于探索赴朝中国游客的反思以及他们在这个“类似他者”目的地如何协商群际身份, 以对旅游领域的身份认同理论做出贡献。

设计/方案

本文运用主题分析方法; 资料来源于网络文本和深度访谈。

发现

当中国游客面对被视为“类似他者”的朝鲜人时(具有相似的社会、经济和政治环境), 他们会根据与朝鲜人的群际相似性, 将自我分类为“普通游客”、“受优待者”和“过来人”三类。此外, 他们还会通过群际比较来提高群体层面和集体层面的自尊, 并且采取对应策略以产生不同的群体承诺。

价值

本文提出了一个分析游客访问“类似他者”目的地时的社会认同的理论框架, 对理解旅游中的社会认同的互动性和偶然性做出了贡献, 并响应了在考察游客群体认同时关注其所处的更广泛的社会背景的呼吁。

实践启示

目的地应该强化它们与“类似他者”客源市场之间友好且独特的关系, 以提升自身吸引力。目的地还应该唤醒游客积极的集体情感和怀旧, 产生主客情感共鸣, 并避免负面情绪, 以尽力提升来自“类似他者”客源地的游客的体验。

Propósito

Este estudio pretende contribuir a la teoría de la identidad social en turismo mediante la exploración de las reflexiones de los turistas chinos que visitan Corea del Norte y cómo negocian su identidad intergrupal en este destino similar a otros.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Los datos se recogieron mediante plataformas en línea y entrevistas en profundidad. Se utilizó un enfoque cualitativo a través de análisis temático para analizar los dos conjuntos de datos.

Resultados

Los resultados mostraron que, al encontrarse con norcoreanos percibidos como otros similares en el entorno social, económico y político en el que estaban integrados, los turistas chinos a menudo se categorizaban a sí mismos como turistas ordinarios, turistas con trato preferente y turistas vicarios basándose en las similitudes intergrupales con los norcoreanos. También, realizaban comparaciones intergrupales para aumentar su autoestima a nivel grupal y colectivo, y desarrollaban las estrategias correspondientes para generar distintos compromisos emocionales grupales.

Originalidad/valor

Se presenta un marco teórico en el que se analizan las características de las identidades sociales de los turistas que visitan un destino similar a otro, lo que contribuye a nuestra comprensión de la naturaleza interactiva y contingente de la identidad social en turismo y responde a la necesidad de abordar los contextos sociales más amplios en los que se inserta la identidad de grupo de los turistas.

Implicaciones prácticas

Se recomienda que los destinos refuercen las relaciones amistosas y únicas con sus mercados emisores similares para mejorar su atractividad. Los destinos deberían esforzarse por mejorar la experiencia de los turistas de sus mercados emisores similares, estimulando su afecto positivo a nivel colectivo, su resonancia emocional y sus recuerdos nostálgicos, y evitando las emociones negativas.

Article
Publication date: 19 October 2023

Kay Lynn Stevens, Dara Mojtahedi and Adam Austin

This study aims to examine whether country of residence, sex trafficking attitudes, complainant gender, juror gender and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) influenced juror…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether country of residence, sex trafficking attitudes, complainant gender, juror gender and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) influenced juror decision-making within a sex trafficking case.

Design/methodology/approach

Jury-eligible participants from the USA and the UK participated in an online juror experiment in which an independent group design was used to manipulate the complainant’s gender. Participants completed the juror decision scale, the sex trafficking attitudes scale and the RWA scale.

Findings

Sex trafficking attitudes predicted the believability of both the defendant and complainant. Greater negative beliefs about victims predicted greater defendant believability and lower complainant believability. US jurors reported greater believability of both the complainant and defendant, and RWA was associated with greater defendant believability. However, none of the other factors, including complainant and juror gender, predicted participants’ verdicts. The findings suggest juror verdicts in sex trafficking cases may be less influenced by extra-legal factors, although further research is needed, especially with a more ambiguous case.

Originality/value

This is one of the few cross-cultural comparison studies in the area of jury decision-making, specifically regarding sex trafficking cases. The findings indicated that US participants held more problematic attitudes about sex trafficking than their UK counterparts, although all participants held problematic attitudes about sex trafficking. However, those attitudes did not affect verdict formation about either a male or female complainant. Participants who were more knowledgeable about sex trafficking reported greater complainant believability, suggesting that educational interventions may provide greater support for victims in court.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2024

Chun-Hsiao Wang and Yu-Ping Chen

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model explicating the development of expatriate social capital and its influence on expatriate effectiveness in terms of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model explicating the development of expatriate social capital and its influence on expatriate effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer and adjustment. Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, we elucidate the process through which expatriate social capital facilitates expatriate knowledge transfer and adjustment via greater access of role information and social support.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews and distills research on expatriate social capital development and proposes a conceptual model of expatriate effectiveness and suggests potential research avenues for global mobility scholars.

Findings

This study contributes to the understanding of the development of expatriate social capital in the host country and its impacts on expatriate effectiveness as a process. With regard to expatriates’ social capital accumulation, this study also highlights the important but less-known role of accompanying spouse/family members as expatriates’ weak tie enablers. We articulate a framework that outlines the sources of social capital for expatriates and the processes through which social capital transmits (via expatriates’ access to role information and social support) and then enhances expatriate effectiveness. This conceptual model aims to establish a basic “roadmap” for use by practitioners and researchers.

Research limitations/implications

Before the proposed conceptual model can be theoretically refined or extended by future research, its veracity needs to be tested empirically. Although we do not incorporate “time,” “personal characteristics” and “context” in our model, we recognize their potential importance and urge future researchers to incorporate them in studying the role of social capital on expatriate effectiveness.

Practical implications

A conceptual model is presented that enables multinational corporations (MNCs) to map their current (and future) strategies to enhance expatriate effectiveness by further strengthening the expatriate social capital.

Originality/value

Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, this paper links various sources of expatriate social capital to expatriates’ access to role information and social support in supporting expatriate effectiveness. From this, several avenues of future research are drawn.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Robin Wakefield and Kirk Wakefield

Social media is replete with malicious and unempathetic rhetoric yet few studies explain why these emotions are publicly dispersed. The purpose of the study is to investigate how…

Abstract

Purpose

Social media is replete with malicious and unempathetic rhetoric yet few studies explain why these emotions are publicly dispersed. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the intergroup counter-empathic response called schadenfreude originates and how it prompts media consumption and engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The study consists of two field surveys of 635 in-group members of two professional sports teams and 300 residents of California and Texas with political party affiliations. The analysis uses SEM quantitative methods.

Findings

Domain passion and group identification together determine the harmonious/obsessive tendencies of passion for an activity and explain the schadenfreude response toward the rival out-group. Group identification is a stronger driver of obsessive passion compared to harmonious passion. Schadenfreude directly influences the use of traditional media (TV, radio, domain websites), it triggers social media engagement (posting), and it accelerates harmonious passion's effects on social media posting.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by the groups used to evaluate the research model, sports, and politics.

Social implications

The more highly identified and passionate group members experience greater counter-empathy toward a rival. At extreme levels of group identification, obsessive passion increases at an increasing rate and may characterize extremism. Harboring feelings of schadenfreude toward the out-group prompts those with harmonious passion for an activity to more frequently engage on social media in unempathetic ways.

Originality/value

This study links the unempathetic, yet common emotion of schadenfreude with passion, intergroup dynamics, and media behavior.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2023

Chung-Jen Wang

On the basis of social identity theory, the purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine how social-based identity (i.e. organizational identification and supervisor…

Abstract

Purpose

On the basis of social identity theory, the purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine how social-based identity (i.e. organizational identification and supervisor support) and personal-based identity (i.e. work-related characteristics and job embeddedness) influence employees’ service sabotage.

Design/methodology/approach

By using a sample of 685 employee–customer dyads, this study investigated whether the cross-level moderating roles of organizational identification and supervisor support can activate linkage between work-related characteristics and job embeddedness.

Findings

The results of this study indicated that job embeddedness mediates the multiple cross-level effects of organizational identification, supervisor support and work-related characteristics on service sabotage. Moreover, work-related characteristics influence job embeddedness more positively in higher than lower levels of organizational identification and supervisor support.

Practical implications

This study provides a valuable approach to effective management practices, helps to clarify identification at work and expands perceived external prestige for hospitality companies.

Originality/value

These findings support that identity in organizations can be recognized as one of the fundamental concepts that influence individual psychological traits, capabilities, bodily attributes, group classifications and organizational effectiveness.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2023

Isabel-Maria Garcia-Sanchez, Maria Victoria Uribe Bohorquez, Cristina Aibar-Guzmán and Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán

For almost half a century, society has been aware of the existence of a glass ceiling, a term that describes the invisible barriers that hinder women’s access to power positions…

Abstract

Purpose

For almost half a century, society has been aware of the existence of a glass ceiling, a term that describes the invisible barriers that hinder women’s access to power positions despite having equal or greater qualifications, skills and merits than their male counterparts. Nowadays, although there are signs of slow progress, women are still underrepresented in the upper echelons of large corporations and the risk of reversing the progress made in gender parity has increased because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper contributes to previous literature by analysing the impact that the uncertainty and cognitive effects associated with COVID-19 in 2020 had on the presence of women on the board of directors and whether this impact has been moderated by the regulatory and policy system on gender quotas in place at the time.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the authors' research hypotheses, the authors selected the major global companies worldwide with economic-financial and non-financial information available in the Thomson Reuters EIKON database over the 2015–2020 period. As a result, the authors' final sample is made up of 1,761 companies from 52 countries with different institutional settings that constitute an unbalanced data panel of 8,963 observations. The nature of the dependent variables requires the use of logistic regressions. The models incorporate the terms to control for any unobservable heterogeneity and the error term. Any endogeneity issues were addressed by considering the explanatory variables with a time lag.

Findings

The authors find that almost 30% of the companies downsized their boards in 2020. This decision resulted in more female than male directors being made redundant, causing a reversal in the fulfilment of gender quotas focussed on ensuring balanced boards with a female presence of 40% or more. This effect was enhanced in countries with hard-law regulation because the penalty for non-compliance with gender quotas had led to a significant increase in the size of these bodies in previous years through the inclusion of the required number of female directors. In contrast, the reduction in board size in soft-law countries does not differ from that in laissez-faire countries, lacking any moderating effect or impact on the number of female board members dismissed as a result of the pandemic.

Originality/value

This paper aims to contribute to current knowledge by analysing the impact that the countries' regulatory and normative systems on gender parity on boards of directors have had on the decisions made in relation to leadership positions, moderating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality at a global level.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2024

Sundeep Sahay and Esther N. Landen

The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes the everyday work of CHWs in two low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts (Uganda and Malawi) and seeks to understand changes in collective identity and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in mediating this “identity work”. As CHWs conduct their everyday tasks of care giving, data reporting and maintaining social interactions, they play two primary roles. One is the care giving role oriented towards the community, and two, is reporting and administrative work by virtue of them being affiliated with the Ministry of Health, either in formal or voluntary capacity. The ambivalence which they experience as they move back and forth between these two worlds of work is significantly now mediated through ICTs. The paper analyzes these dynamics and identifies three key sets of ambivalence in identity work: (1) role embracing-institutional distancing; (2) conformist-resistant and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. The paper makes unique contributions to information systems (IS) and ICT for development (ICT4D) studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system. This contrasts with dominant research in the field which focuses on professional groups, largely based in Western business organizations.

Findings

The paper identifies identity related tensions that emerge with the mediation of digital technologies in the work world of CHWs. These include tensions of conformist-resistant; and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. These findings are relevant and unique to the field of IS and ICT4D studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system.

Research limitations/implications

While acknowledging identity construction and negotiation is a function of both work and social lives, in this paper we could only focus on the work lives.

Practical implications

As digital interventions in the health sector of low and middle income countries is becoming increasingly widespread, often the focus is more on the supply side (the supply of the technology) rather than on the demand side (users experiences and aspirations). Identity becomes a lens to understand these demand side dynamics, which helps provides practical guidance on implementation approaches to ensure that the technology adds value to user work processes and there is a seamless and not a disruptive transition.

Social implications

CHWs are the most neglected cadre in the health system of low and middle income countries, even though they provide the cutting edge in care provision work to the most marginalized populations, living in rural and underserved areas. By focusing on how technologies can be more effectively implemented to support these care processes, the paper provides important social implications both for practice and research.

Originality/value

Analysis of identity construction and negotiation of informal groups in the unorganized sector of low and middle income countries has not received adequate attention in IS research. The paper seeks to fill this important gap.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2023

Timo Lenk

In today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, organizations deal with fragmented publics in contested public spheres. At the core, public opinion is not so much…

Abstract

Purpose

In today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, organizations deal with fragmented publics in contested public spheres. At the core, public opinion is not so much divided by issues per se but by deeply rooted moral concerns. Hence, while normative perspectives on morality prevail in strategic communication research, understanding the moral motives of stakeholders and publics from a descriptive standpoint becomes vital. In this light, the present conceptual paper discusses the implications of moral foundations theory (MFT), as an influential evolutionary-anthropological approach to morality, for strategic communication research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting micro-, meso- and macro-perspectives, MFT's potential contribution to strategic communication research is explored regarding three foci: (1) moral framing, (2) narratives and (3) public discourse dynamics.

Findings

The paper concludes that frames and more complex narratives in strategic communication allude to MFT's five foundations – care, fairness, loyalty, authority and purity – in diverse ways and are given different readings by stakeholders and publics. Building on MFT, novel empirical tools are available to access and understand the complex web of moral meaning infused in public discourses.

Originality/value

For the first time, MFT is discussed systematically and in detail in the context of strategic communication research. The theory contributes to deepening the understanding of the conditions, e.g. for issues management and strategic mobilization. On broader view, this paper adds to the discussion on evolutionary perspectives in strategic communication research.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2023

Satyendra Singh

The purpose of the perspective article is to review relevant literature on family business and ethnic fashion and establish links across identity (defined as culture, tradition…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the perspective article is to review relevant literature on family business and ethnic fashion and establish links across identity (defined as culture, tradition, heritage and status) and fashion (color, design, pattern and fabric/texture) and internationalization (foreign market entry), and develop a conceptual model using the identity theory and qualitative method.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative study by design. We used a systematic research and ethnographic method for this study. Specifically, the author used the participant observation aspect of ethnography to collect information and images relating to ethnic fashion. Ethnography is a well-established methodology widely used in social sciences research, including fashion.

Findings

The study's conceptual model proposes that (1) ethnic fashion mediates the identity-internationalization relationship, (2) knowledge transfer moderates the identity-ethnic fashion relationship and (3) family business size moderates the ethnic fashion-internationalization relationship. It is also revealed that a person's status can be judged by their dress and fashion in under two minutes.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to the African continent, though it has 54 countries with a current population of about 1.5 billion people, which is expected to be roughly 2.5 billion by 2050.

Practical implications

Implications of the study for the entrepreneurs and family businesses are that they should realize the opportunities presented by ethnic African fashion and tap into the most crucial key to success—local design, color, fabric and patterns associated with meaning and messages. Cross-cultural collaborations and digital innovations can help the internationalization of African fashion while preserving local heritage and identity. Another implication is that quality and consistency in branding are equally essential to be on par with intentional luxury brands.

Social implications

The social implication of the study is that culture and fashion are correlated and influence designers' creations, reflecting and conveying identity, status and societal values. Fashion allows people to express their identity, individuality and values. The proper fashion and outfit can boost mood, self-esteem and confidence, resulting in healthy social interaction and mental health. Fashion can also raise social issues (e.g. inclusiveness, diversity and gender by featuring various models and designs) and environmental issues (e.g. sustainable practices local and ethical production).

Originality/value

The paper synthesizes ethnic fashion in the context of family businesses in Africa, highlights specific examples of ethnic fashion of African people with the potential for internationalization and proposes future fashion perspectives for family businesses. It adds value in that it focuses on fashion family businesses in the African continent.

Details

Journal of Family Business Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-6238

Keywords

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