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Article
Publication date: 14 September 2022

Cletus Agyenim-Boateng, Sulemana Iddrisu and James Otieku

This paper aims to examine the nature of corporate governance systems in Ghanaian Family-owned Businesses (FOBs). Specifically, the study investigates the nature of boardroom…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the nature of corporate governance systems in Ghanaian Family-owned Businesses (FOBs). Specifically, the study investigates the nature of boardroom decisions structures, sources of governance regulations and family roles in corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on Bourdieusian perspectives of the field, capital, habitus and doxa, a case study design is used to gather detailed insights about the phenomena. Purposively, the study conducts 20 interviews with participants from 15 FOBs in Ghana. The interview data are complemented with secondary sources, such as FOB handbooks, website information, legal documents and scriptures. Subsequently, data gathered were thematically analysed.

Findings

The study finds that human actors blended traditionally tacit and legally expressed boardroom decisions structures in FOBs governance. Again, traditional values, social acceptance of religious sociology and regulatory frameworks of the field dictate corporate governance practices in FOBs. In multiple family ownerships, orthodoxy of doxa is challenged; hence, power struggles and family roles in governance depend on capital possessed by social actors.

Practical implications

To continue as a going concern, FOBs must be mindful of traditional, religious sociology of family and regulatory frameworks within the field in which they operate. This is because, without this, the going concern of FOBs becomes suspicious and highly unlikely, especially where there are multiple family ownership and generations.

Originality/value

The previous literature predominantly focussed on formal boardroom structures in addressing FOBs' corporate governance issues. Notwithstanding, family governance risk of domineering and distrust associated with traditional and relational governance mechanisms remain under-represented and inconclusive, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Details

Journal of Family Business Management, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-6238

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2023

Clayton Kuma, Peni Fukofuka and Sue Yong

This paper aims to investigate the practice of accounting in the Seventh-day Adventist church of the Pacific Islands and pays particular attention to the coexisting of two control…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the practice of accounting in the Seventh-day Adventist church of the Pacific Islands and pays particular attention to the coexisting of two control devices: accounting and religion.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper implemented a qualitative field study design collecting interview data from church members from the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji. Data were also collected through focus group discussions, document reviews, website analysis and participant observations. Pierre Bourdieu’s thinking on symbolic violence, doxa and capital are used to interpret the findings.

Findings

This paper’s main contribution shows that while there is a divine and profane divide, social agents, given their agency, can move back and forth from one side of the divide to the other. Accounting as a control device does not include features such as faith, which is helpful for decision-making; accordingly, religion is relied upon when it comes to decision-making. In contrast, accounting has features that are useful for stewardship purposes. Accordingly, when it comes to the church’s stewardship function accounting in the form of financial reports is relied upon.

Research limitations/implications

Pacific Island culture almost permeates all facets of life, including church life; however, this study did not clarify this. Later studies can explore the implications of culture on the deployment of accounting in a religious setting.

Practical implications

This rich empirical study describes the control dynamics and the tension between accounting and religion in a religious organisation. Accounting needs to adapt to churches’ unique characteristics, whereby religious/doctrinal beliefs must be accounted for and respected. Unlike in the corporate world, accountants in churches cannot fully practice their training or exercise the kind of influence they usually hold in organisations due to their religious belief systems.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of a few studies on the religion-accounting relationship. While the focus of earlier studies was generally on a secular and sacred divide, this study looks at coexisting of accounting and religion. This study adds to the sparse literature on accounting and religion and their controlling influence.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Umer Hussain

Throughout the world, women encounter strong patriarchal values that promote the virtue of women's chastity. Within numerous conservative societies, such as certain regions of the…

Abstract

Throughout the world, women encounter strong patriarchal values that promote the virtue of women's chastity. Within numerous conservative societies, such as certain regions of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the intactness of the hymen in a young woman is viewed as emblematic of her dignity, righteousness, and pride. Participants in our investigations highlighted that hymen rupture stigma remains prevalent in many parts of Pakistan, often leading to social consequences or disapproval of women who want to participate in sports. Additionally, participants disclosed that some women had internalized the hymen rupture stigma, and families might reinforce it. This chapter contributes to the limited scholarship concerning how social norms, hymen rupture stigma, and family values influence Muslim women's participation or lack of participation in sports in Pakistan.

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2023

Hilary Yerbury, Michael Olsson and Pethigamage Perera

The outcomes of information behaviours have traditionally been conceptualised as use or effects. The adoption of a sociological stance, based on a practices approach, provides the…

Abstract

Purpose

The outcomes of information behaviours have traditionally been conceptualised as use or effects. The adoption of a sociological stance, based on a practices approach, provides the opportunity to challenge these understandings. The non-Western setting further enhances the possibilities for conceptualising the outcomes of information practices as forms of capital.

Design/methodology/approach

This ethnographic study uses a Bourdieusian approach to investigate the information practices of diasporic devotees and monks of a Theravada Buddhist Temple in Sydney, Australia. The insider position of one researcher brought strong insights into the data, while the theoretical approach shared with the other researchers reinforced an outsider perspective.

Findings

The Temple’s online sources and personal communication with other devotees provide a diverse range of sources that devotees use in information-based cultural practices and everyday life information practices. These practices lead to outcomes that can be identified as economic, social and cultural capital. Pin or merit emerges as an important outcome of practices which is not easily accommodated by the concept of outcome, nor by Bourdieu’s categories of capital.

Originality/value

Adding to the small number of studies concerned with information practices in a spiritual context, this study shows the value of a Bourdieusian approach in identifying the outcomes of information practices as capital, but highlights the shortcomings of applying Western concepts in non-Western settings. It proposes the possibility of a new form of capital, which will need to be tested rigorously in studies in other spiritual settings.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 80 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2023

Satish Kr Gupta and Anirban Mukherjee

This qualitative research examines the varied reasons for relocation to old age homes (OAHs) in contemporary India. The purpose of this study investigates the acceptance of…

Abstract

Purpose

This qualitative research examines the varied reasons for relocation to old age homes (OAHs) in contemporary India. The purpose of this study investigates the acceptance of institutional living in Lucknow (a Tier II city of India) and whether migration to OAHs is a voluntary decision. This study also examines the lifeworld of the older adult in these OAHs in an attempt to find out whether OAHs are conducive to positive ageing. Derivatively, the authors study their engagement/time use pattern and social networking patterns in the OAHs. Finally, the research seeks to learn whether OAHs are slowly substituting older adult care given within the family by offering the best of the facilities and services.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative research was conducted in two private OAHs in Lucknow, India. The findings of the study are based on 28 qualitative interviews conducted with the inmates, administrative staff and caretakers. The interviews were unstructured and open-ended and were supported by observations. The observation was not only made of the social setting but also the reaction of the participants. The idea was to develop an emic view of the subject by exploring valid narratives. Pseudonyms were used to report the finding so as to maintain the confidentiality of the research subjects.

Findings

This research moves beyond the traditional wisdom that people move to OAH because of the push factors within the family. OAHs in India have evolved over the years and high-end OAHs are equipped with modern amenities to cater to the upper class in their twilight years. Residents were found to lead active lives in OAHs and their common habitus and bonding capital helped them to face the vagaries of old age more confidently. Their active life and membership in various civic organizations challenge the contention of the role theory that the aged are more prone to lose rather than gain roles.

Originality/value

The originality of the research lies in the fact that the authors are extending the arguments made by the role theory of social ageing. The theory proposes that aged people are more likely to lose out roles rather than gain new ones. This study finds that the elderly tend to live a very active life in OAHs and engaged various civic organizations. Although they may lose/voluntarily give up the roles like the head of the household, spouse, etc., they acquire new roles in the context of OAHs.

Book part
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Mervi Kaukko and Jane Wilkinson

In this chapter, we present two examples of research projects aimed at amplifying voices that are often silenced in research: those of children and/or youth from refugee…

Abstract

In this chapter, we present two examples of research projects aimed at amplifying voices that are often silenced in research: those of children and/or youth from refugee backgrounds. Refugees are often excluded from research for both ethical and practical reasons: because of their assumed vulnerability as well as the challenges related to language or access. In the research projects presented, we aimed to employ methods that suited these groups of children and youth to understand their experiences in ways that they wanted to express them, and in situ. We argue that starting from, and finishing with, the point of view of the knowledge holders illustrates one means (although not exclusively so) by which to amplify their voices and knowledge to counter epistemic injustice in educational research.

Details

Researching Practices Across and Within Diverse Educational Sites: Onto-epistemological Considerations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-871-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Helen Abnett

This paper explores how INGOs communicate their activities and achievements. In doing so, the study seeks to increase our understanding of INGOs' accountability practices.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores how INGOs communicate their activities and achievements. In doing so, the study seeks to increase our understanding of INGOs' accountability practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses thematic analysis to analyse 90 ‘leaders’ letters' (the letters that many charities include at the beginning of their Annual Reports and Accounts), published by 39 INGOs between 2015 and 2018.

Findings

This paper argues that within the Annual Report letters under consideration, INGOs' accountability practices focus on quantitative, process-driven, output reporting. In doing so, it is the actions and agency of INGOs that are primarily emphasised. INGO constituents are largely excluded from representation. Donors are presented only as contributors of financial capital. Drawing on field theory, the paper argues that this representational practice means INGO constituents are almost irrelevant to INGOs' representational and accountability communication practices.

Originality/value

This paper is indebted to previous important work and, building on such scholarship, seeks to contribute to the ongoing conversation about INGO accountability. While reinforcing some prior knowledge, the findings here also differ in the understanding of how donors are portrayed. The paper extends previous analyses by using field theory to show that the INGO field as considered here is a space in which representations of accountability are based on organisational and transactional factors, and does not value the humanity of INGOs' constituents. This connects to operations of power, between donors, INGOs, and constituents, and reinforces inequitable power within the development system.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Samantha Evans and Madeleine Wyatt

This chapter challenges middle-class bias in work-life literature by examining work-life balance dynamics through a social class perspective. It reveals class-based disparities in…

Abstract

This chapter challenges middle-class bias in work-life literature by examining work-life balance dynamics through a social class perspective. It reveals class-based disparities in physical, temporal, and psychological outcomes, including the role of economic capital in work-life balance and the challenges encountered by the socially mobile in achieving psychological balance. It emphasizes the need to acknowledge social class implications for work-life balance and urges organizations to address class-based inconsistencies and inequalities in their practices.

Details

Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-219-8

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-787-7

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Abstract

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Appearance in the Workplace
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-174-7

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