bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
When does abusive supervision mitigate work effort? Moderating roles of cognitive reappraisal and rumination
Authors: Dedahanov Alisher Tohirovich , Miao Siyuan , Semyonov Aleksey Aleksandrovich
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the boundary condition roles of cognitive reappraisal and rumination in the link between abusive supervision and work effort.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 545 highly skilled employees of manufacturing companies. We excluded 161 of these questionnaires because they were incomplete and used 384 questionnaires in the analyses. To assess the validity of proposed hypotheses, we conducted hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results indicate that cognitive reappraisal weakens the negative link between abusive supervision and work effort. Moreover, individuals who ruminate tend to exhibit reduced work effort when they experience abusive behavior from their supervisors.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate the moderating roles of cognitive reappraisal and rumination in the link between abusive supervision and work effort. The findings can help organizations understand the situations when abusive supervision decreases levels of work effort among employees and when subordinates maintain their levels of work effort.
How different types of performance management systems affect organizational performance?
Authors: Kadak Tarmo , Laitinen Erkki K.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between different types of performance management system (PMS) and organizational performance. The main task is based on an empirical typology of PMS to show how the different types of PMS are related to organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical typology is used on the creation on the sample of Estonian and Finnish firms.

Findings

The results show that the highest performance out of the four clusters is achieved by firms from strategy-focused multi-level and strategy-focused one-level clusters. They also show the highest quality of the key characteristics of PMS. Firms from the not-strategy-focused one-level cluster have the lowest performance and quality of the key characteristics of PMS.

Practical implications

The findings give a set of consistent guidelines on how to develop a PMS to achieve high organizational performance in different situations. These give hints, if strategic objectives are important to firm, then for achieving these objectives, also a strong emphasis of strategic aspects in PMS is necessary to gain performance; if the firm suffers from a lack of strategy, the firm should invest on the information aspects of PMS to get more relevant information to increase performance; if the firm, however, decides to move more strategy-oriented, then the strategy aspects of the PMS should get relatively more attention than other aspects in PMS, and they should be developed with care, otherwise performance will suffer.

Originality/value

This paper shows relations between empirically extracted clusters and organizational performance. The results show that clusters of PMS are systematically associated with the level of performance. Firms with different aspects of PMS do not achieve the equal level of performance. Firms with higher performance inside different PMS types have more desirable characteristics and aspects of PMS.
Performance habitus: performance management and measurement in UK higher education
Authors: Hutaibat Khaled , Alhatabat Zaidoon , von Alberti-Alhtaybat Larissa , Al-Htaybat Khaldoon
Published: February 2021

Purpose

What academic and managerial elements are particularly influential regarding performance? This study aims to address these questions as part of a broader longitudinal study. The current paper focusses on the results relating to performance management and measurement, and how the sectorial developments impacted on individuals and institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretive research methodology was used, which illustrates the institutional performance management and measurement system. The first part of the interpretive study was a single case study, focussing on one “old” research-intensive university. The second part included five institutions, three UK top-tier universities, focussing on top-level research and education, and two “new” universities with a greater teaching than research portfolio.

Findings

The current paper focusses on the results relating to performance management and measurement, and how higher education (HE) developments impacted on individuals and institutions, reflected in the notion of performance habitus. The qualitative element of the study sought to gain insight into which factors influence performance management and measurement and what changing effect these have on academic members of staff. The findings illustrate how academic values and managerial control practices create an academia-specific performance management approach, measured by particular key performance indicators that are used for the institution as a whole and then applied to units and individuals within institutions. With regard to institutional performance, more established and institutionalised performance management and measurement practices are relied upon. Both elements are addressed in this study, and the authors conclude that the interplay of human capital and institutional structure creates the most successful performance-related outcome.

Originality/value

The current study adds additional insights on how the changing HE context affects academic members and how the future of the UK HE sector is perceived. Insights can be derived for other HE sectors, as the contextual factors of international competition, tightening of resources and nature of the academic sector transcend national borders. Thus, practices illustrated in the current study are useful for institutions and academic managers of other HE sectors as well.
Corporate social responsibility and firm default risk in the Eurozone: a market-based approach
Authors: Shahrour Mohamad Hassan , Girerd-Potin Isabelle , Taramasco Ollivier
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the default risk level of firms operating in the Eurozone and how CSR can provide insurance-like protection during financial/economic downturns.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on prior empirical studies and by integrating the insights of different theories, this study proposes a framework linking CSR, firm default risk and corporate financial performance to explain firms' social behavior that can trigger default risk determinants (e.g. cost of capital, leverage, sales level) directly or indirectly. The authors use a panel regression approach.

Findings

The results support the mitigating effect of CSR on firm default risk. This effect is higher during a financial crisis, suggesting that CSR could provide insurance-like protection during economic downturns. These results hold even after using an alternative risk measure. Granger causality test results strongly suggest that reverse causality is not a concern. An instrumental variable approach is proposed to deal with potential endogeneity issues.

Originality/value

While other studies examine the CSR–firm default risk relationship in US samples, this study focuses on the Eurozone. The novelty of this work is based on its sample and how financial crises are addressed within this relationship. Insurance-like protection concerns both negative announcements and periods (e.g. financial crises, recessions). The study's results are useful for investors and risk managers who intend to manage default risk in their portfolios or firms.
Effect of COVID-19 on perceived stress among Bangladeshi people
Authors: Tabassum Mimma , Parvej Md Iftakhar , Ahmed Firoz , Zafreen Farzana , Sultana Samina
Published: February 2021

Purpose

COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious threat to peoples’ physical and mental health because of its high death toll all over the world within a very short period. As a result, people may be psychologically stressed, which can affect their quality of life. The main purpose of this study is to quantify the level of stress among the adults (age 18 and above) including all gender, religions and races of Bangladesh during this devastating pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This online survey-based study collected demographic data and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to determine stress levels over past one month. The total numbers of respondents are 1,148 from May 29, 2020 to June 12, 2020; using the PSS to assess stress levels and to identify the potential variables having association with level of psychological stress, multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed.

Findings

A scary proportion (81%) of respondents suffered from substantial amount psychological stress during this COVID-19 pandemic. It is an undeniable signal for us that, every 4 out of 5 respondents in our study is suffering from different level of psychological stress during this time. Comparing the level of stress, this study finds that elderly (60 and above), women, front-line workers (doctor and other health-care professionals) and second-line workers (public service holders, police and defense and banks or financial institutes) have high psychological stress compared to the other respondents.

Originality/value

This study will help policymakers to provide relevant mental health intervention strategies to cope with this challenge efficiently.
Mental health and its correlates: perspectives from two countries
Authors: Xie H.T.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the attributes of community dwelling adults with serious mental health illnesses in the USA and Singapore in terms of perception of mental health recovery and its correlates, namely, strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample of 100 participants from each country participated in the study by completing self-administered questionnaires.

Findings

The results showed high overall scores in mental health recovery, strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness in both countries with only a statistically significant difference between both countries in mental health recovery. Participants in both countries also experienced stigma.

Research limitations/implications

The study not only enhanced the focus on mental health and its correlates but also suggested the need for efforts to de-stigmatize mental health conditions which could impact on mental health recovery.

Originality/value

This paper is original and adds on to the knowledge base on mental health recovery and its correlates through the unique opportunity to review information from both countries.
An investigation of physical properties and photovoltaic performance of methylammonium lead-tin iodide (CH3NH3Sn1-xPbxI3) solar cells
Authors: Malekan Omid , Adelifard Mehdi , Mohagheghi Mohamad Mehdi Bagheri
Published: February 2021

Purpose

In the past several years, CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite material has been extensively evaluated as an absorber layer of perovskite solar cells due to its excellent structural and optical properties, and greater than 22% conversion efficiency. However, improvement and future commercialization of solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3 encountered restrictions due to toxicity and instability of the lead element. Recently, studies on properties of lead-free and mixture of lead with other cations perovskite thin films as light absorber materials have been reported. The purpose of this paper was the fabrication of CH3NH3Sn1-xPbxI3 thin films with different SnI2 concentrations in ambient condition, and study on the structural, morphological, optical, and photovoltaic performance of the studied solar cells. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed the formation of both CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3SnI3 phases with increasing the Sn concentration, and improvement in crystallinity and morphology was also observed. All perovskite layers had a relatively high absorption coefficient >104 cm−1 in the visible wavelengths, and the bandgap values varied in the range from 1.46 to 1.63 eV. Perovskite solar cells based on these thin films have been fabricated, and device performance was investigated. Results showed that photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) for the pure CH3NH3PbI3sample was 1.20%. With adding SnI2, PCE was increased to 4.48%.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, the author mixed tin and lead with different percentages in the perovskite thin film. Also, the preparation of these layers and also other layers to fabricate solar cells based on them were conducted in an open and non-glove box environment. Finally, the effect of [Sn/Pb] ratio in the CH3NH3Sn1-xPbxI3 layers on the structural, morphological, optical, electrical and photovoltaic performance have been investigated.

Findings

CH3NH3Sn1-xPbxI3 (x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) perovskite thin films have been grown by a spin-coating technique. It was found that as tin concentration increases, the X-ray diffraction and FESEM images studies revealed the formation of both CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3SnI3 phases, and improvement in crystallinity, and morphology; all thin films had high absorption coefficient values close to 104 cm−1 in the visible region, and the direct optical bandgap in the layers decreases from 1.63 eV in pure CH3NH3SnI3 to 1.46 eV for CH3NH3Sn0.0.25Pb0.75I3 samples; all thin films had p-type conductivity, and mobility and carrier density increased; perovskite solar cells based on these thin films have been fabricated, and device performance was investigated. Results showed that photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) for the pure CH3NH3PbI3sample was 1.20%. With adding SnI2, PCE was increased to 4.48%.

Originality/value

The preparation method seems to be interesting as it is in an ambient environment without the protection of nitrogen or argon gas.
Sense of virtual community, commitment and knowledge contribution: an empirical research based on MI community
Authors: Yao Shanji , Zheng Xinnuo , Liu Dewen
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find a way to encourage community members to actively create content and contribute knowledge through the study of the relationship between virtual community awareness, commitment and knowledge contribution, so as to make virtual community revitalize and provide a better platform for enterprises to carry out network marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

This study establishes a theoretical model that member knowledge contribution’s prepositive impact in virtual community. SOVC is an independent variable, commitment is a mediating variable and knowledge contribution is a dependent variable. Through 139 valid questionnaires from MI community, relationships among sense of virtual community (SOVC), commitment and knowledge contribution are deeply discussed.

Findings

Empirical results show that, as three dimensions of SOVC, membership, influence and immersion can all drive commitment and knowledge contribution in different degrees. In the two-dimensional division of commitment, only affective commitment can drive knowledge contribution. Affective commitment and calculative commitment can play a mediating role in the impact of SOVC on knowledge contribution.

Originality/value

Empirical research that the academia has done on important issues such as the impact of SOVC and commitment on knowledge contribution is deficient. Furthermore, those researches which have explored the mediating effect of commitment in the impact of SOVC on knowledge contribution remain merely on theoretical deduction level, and empirical studies based on Chinese background are also rare. In China, MI community is the typical representative of virtual community that runs successfully, and choosing it to conduct research can not only provide representatives on sample but also duplicate on the result popularity. Thus, this paper chooses MI community as the empirical object to explore the relationships among SOVC, commitment and knowledge contribution.
Exploring the motivation of social entrepreneurs in creating successful social enterprises in East Africa
Authors: Wanyoike Caroline Njeri , Maseno Matilda
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the motivations of social entrepreneurs in East Africa to create a social enterprise and their identified links to successful social entrepreneurship in East Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a qualitative method by performing thematic analysis on a set of interviews on social entrepreneurs from East Africa who are Ashoka fellows.

Findings

The findings suggest that intense personal experiences linked to past-life events as well as a high achievement orientation towards improving livelihoods and creating impact serve as key triggers for social entrepreneurship. Successful entrepreneurship focusses on system change at national and local levels. Their success is also seen when the social entrepreneurs have achieved their mission and are no longer needed; thus, they become irrelevant. The paper discusses the implications of these findings on the model used for sustainable social entrepreneurship in East Africa.

Practical implications

Based on an exploratory research on Ashoka fellows, the study adds insight to their motivations and success which can be used in a wider scale study of the same.

Originality/value

The authors advance the scarce empirical research on East African social entrepreneurs, link success factors of social entrepreneurship to a recent framework on motivation to engage in social entrepreneurship and stimulate further research in the area. The study contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship by linking success factors of social entrepreneurship to a recent framework on motivation to engage in social entrepreneurship.
The effect of implicit (vs explicit) rejection on the behavioral intentions of online daters
Authors: Alba George
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Online dating facilitates both dater interactions and rejections. Given the vast offer of potential mates and daters' limited time, several rejections may occur. On online dating platforms, most of these rejections are simply the absence of a reply (ignoring). The purpose of this paper is to compare the impact of implicit rejection (ignoring) vs explicit rejection (declining) on the behavioral intentions of daters, considering self-esteem as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

Experiment 1 investigated the effect of the extent of rejection (implicit vs explicit vs control) on the behavioral intentions of online daters. Experiment 2 assessed observers' recommended actions to a male (vs female) online dater following rejection (implicit vs explicit vs control).

Findings

Implicit rejections generate greater behavioral intentions than explicit rejections. Both daters (study 1) and observers of the dating scenario (study 2) indicated greater intent to revise their profiles (study 1) or recommend a profile revision (study 2) when implicitly (vs explicitly) rejected by interaction partners. Self-esteem moderated the effect of the extent of rejection. Higher levels of self-esteem eliminate and lower levels of self-esteem intensify the effect of the extent of rejection on behavioral intentions. Additionally, observers' recommendations based on the extent of rejection depend on the rejected dater's gender.

Originality/value

Ignoring is a frequent practice among dating platform users, and this paper provides an original contribution to better understand the differences stemming from implicit or explicit rejection of online daters.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2020-0207
Board demographic diversity and human rights reporting in Western Europe
Authors: Branco Ana Paula Castelo , Bianchi Maria Teresa , Castelo Branco Manuel
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between board demographic diversity and human rights reporting for a sample of large Western European companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Grounded on resource dependence theory, the authors hypothesize that greater gender, age and nationality diversities will translate into enhanced levels of human rights reporting. The authors use ordinal logistic regression analysis to analyze the association between these types of board diversity and such reporting.

Findings

The findings suggest that the companies in the sample attribute little importance to the reporting of information pertaining to the issue of human rights. They also suggest that only the diversity of nations represented in the board of directors is significant in explaining this type of reporting.

Research limitations/implications

The sample includes only large companies from Western Europe and the analysis covers only one year.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first empirical analysis of factors influencing human rights reporting conducted on a multiple-country setting. It is also the first investigating the association between boards of directors’ demographic diversity and such reporting.
Analysis of COVID-19 infections in GCC countries to identify the indicators correlating the number of cases and deaths
Authors: Ephrem Ben George , Appaadurai Samuel Giftson , Dhanasekaran Balaji R.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The world has faced various epidemic situations caused by different viruses such as SARS-Cov, MERS-Cov, Ebola and many more during the past few decades, SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) is the genetic variant of newly the discovered Coronavirus, which has been believed to spread from China during December 2019, which has created a catastrophic effect for the whole world. In the first quarter of 2020, the virus started to spread to different countries, in addition, the severity of cases, the mortality rate and the recovery rate varied between countries. In the Sultanate of Oman and different parts of the world, the COVID started to spike during the end of March 2020. In this research paper, COVID data for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are extracted and analysis has been made based on different parameters. The analysis has been divided into two categories – the first part focuses on the total number of cases, the total number of recoveries and the total number of deaths and comparison has been made for different GCC countries, from these analyses, it gives a clear picture of the days of a particular month, which contributes to the increase of COVID cases. The second part focuses on finding out the indicators that are correlating with the COIVD-19 cases and deaths; it has been found that there is a very strong correlation between the total population and labour force of every GCC country with the corresponding COVID cases and deaths.

Design/methodology/approach

The entire research steps involved starts with data collection, data pre-processing and data analysis. The analysis has been divided into two categories – the first part focuses on the total number of cases, the total number of recoveries and the total number of deaths and comparisons has been made for different GCC countries. The second part focuses on finding out the indicators that are correlating with COIVD-19 cases and deaths.

Findings

It has been found that there is a very strong correlation between the total population and labour force of every GCC country with the corresponding COVID cases and deaths.

Research limitations/implications

The data set considered is limited and can be extended further.

Social implications

This research paper definitely provides a road map for practice, as this research provides details about the total number of active cases, death based on the days in different GCC countries. It has been observed that during the end of each month and during weekends, the total number of cases increases drastically, so by taking into consideration the governing bodies can impose a lockdown during these spike durations. In addition to it, the citizens and residents should make a practice to avoid or limit their movement during the spike durations, which was analysed by this research work.

Originality/value

The idea is the own idea and not copied from any other source.
Review: development of inkjet printing colorants in ceramics
Authors: Joglekar-Athavale Amruta , Shankarling Ganapti S.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The review glances upon the colorants used for printing on ceramic substrates by ink jet technology and techniques, chemistry involved during the selection of the colorants.

Design/methodology/approach

The ink jet technology is an easy and a convenient technique, specially designed colorants are used for such applications with tailor made properties and features.

Findings

New developments in technology and chemistry of colorants to achieve successes in application studies of ceramic substrates.

Research limitations/implications

N/A.

Practical implications

This review glances upon the history, development and practical approach of the current techniques with available dyes and pigments and the techniques involved during the synthesis and application.

Originality/value

The review paper provides information about the development of the inkjet technique on ceramics and available colorants with methods.
Financial battle against climate change – assessing effectiveness using a scorecard
Authors: Saliya Candauda Arachchige , Pandey Suesh Kumar
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how and to what extent the Fijian sustainable banking regulations or guidelines are designed, communicated, implemented and monitored within the financial system in Fiji. A scorecard is introduced for this purpose to assess the effectiveness of Fiji’s financial battle against climate change (FBACC).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed-method methodology. Data were collected mainly from a survey and supplemented by interviews, observations and documents. The scorecard was developed by building on existing two theoretical frameworks, namely, the Sustainable Banking Assessment and Climate Change Governance Index, to make them more appropriate and practically applicable to less developed financial systems in emerging economies such as Fiji. This FBACC scorecard consists of four perspectives, eight critical factors and 24 criteria.

Findings

The results show that the overall FBACC score averages 40.75%, and all the perspectives scored below 50%, the benchmark. Only the CF “policy” scored 54.25% because of a high positive response of 82.3% for the “political leadership” criterion. The relative contributions of each perspective in constructing the overall score are distributed as 28%, 25%, 24% and 23% among planning, action, accountability and control, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

These results were complemented by the information shared during the interviews and confirmed that the existing political initiatives need to be effectively communicated and/or implemented in the financial system by the regulatory agencies.

Practical implications

This FBACC scorecard can be applied to other underdeveloped systems in emerging countries to assess the effectiveness of the sustainable banking regulations and/or guidelines in those countries in relation to the FBACC. It can also be applied to individual firms to assess their contribution to the FBACC.

Originality/value

To the authors’ best knowledge, this might be the first study in Fiji that considers the impact of climate-related financial risk on the Fijian financial system.
Resilience and stress management amongst corporate security managers: a hybrid approach to thematic analysis
Authors: Rahman Sami , Cachia Moira
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of stress by national corporate security managers in the United Kingdom and how they manage it.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was adopted where in-depth semi-structured one-to-one interviews with 22 male participants were conducted as the method of data collection. This was analysed using hybrid thematic analysis.

Findings

Three overarching themes were elicited, namely: “Resilience”, “Synergy” and “Work/life balance”. The outcome showed that stress management by security managers is moulded by an interaction of various facets, with an emphasis on “resilience” having 66% of content occurrence, a factor which complements and enriches the job demand–control-support (JDCS) theoretical framework (Johnson and Hall, 1988).

Practical implications

The paper argues the importance of the interaction between resilience and the dimensions of the JDCS. The research indicates the interaction is important in how practitioners can develop interventions in reducing stress in the workplace.

Social implications

This research outcome implies that employees in managerial positions should be provided with resilience assessment and training to enhance their job effectiveness and well-being. Resilience needs to be recognised as an important trainable skill and stress management training should emphasise the enhancement of resilience.

Originality/value

This type of qualitative investigation on the lived experiences of stress management and how this affected one's resilience's in a high-stress industry is innovative as past research is mostly quantitative.
Influence of 3D printing process parameters on the mechanical properties and mass of PLA parts and predictive models
Authors: Afonso João Araújo , Alves Jorge Lino , Caldas Gabriela , Gouveia Barbara Perry , Santana Leonardo , Belinha Jorge
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the parameters of the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process on the mechanical properties and on the mass of parts printed in Polylactic Acid (PLA). In addition, the authors developed predictive models for the analysed responses.

Design/methodology/approach

A full Factorial type of experimental planning method was used to define the conditions for manufacturing parts according to the variation of the construction parameters, extrusion temperature and print speed. Samples were printed for tensile, flexion and compression tests. Their mass was measured. Multiple regression methods, based on power equations, were used to build the forecasting models.

Findings

It was found that the extrusion temperature was the parameter of greatest influence in the variation of the analysed responses, mainly because it generates behaviour patterns and indirectly demonstrates thermal/rheological characteristics of the material used. Print speed affects responses, however, with variations dependent on part geometry and printer hardware/software. It was possible to establish prediction models with low error rates in relation to the experimental values.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates a good relation between the use of a structured experimental planning method as the basis for the development of predictive models based on mathematical equations, the same structure of which can be used to describe different responses.
Innovation and entrepreneurship amidst coronavirus: a hybrid innovation network response
Authors: Sahasranamam Sreevas
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This article aims to discuss adaptation of innovation network during crisis, using the context of an Indian state’s response during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on a combination of data from public sources and interviews with entrepreneurs and innovators from an Indian state obtained during the period January–May 2020.

Findings

A hybrid innovation network approach with low barriers between the triple helix agents and a non-linear approach to innovation shaped the response of an Indian state toward the pandemic.

Originality/value

This article serves as a case study for innovation network response during initial periods of a crisis such as COVID-19.
Do CEO overconfidence and narcissism affect corporate social responsibility in the UK listed companies? The moderating role of corporate governance
Authors: Bouzouitina Asma , Khaireddine Mouakhar , Jarboui Anis
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effect of two CEO characteristics, namely, narcissism and overconfidence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 2,360 UK firms listed on the FTSE 400 index for the years 2010–2017, the feasible generalized least squares method was applied to test the hypotheses developed.

Findings

The finding argues that CEO narcissism and overconfidence positively affect CSR. In addition, this paper found that CG effectiveness moderates the CEO’s CSR behavior.

Research limitations/implications

This research is subjected to two limitations. First, this study used different measures to proxy for CEO narcissism and overconfidence. However, other measures are not included owing to the difficulty to collect data regarding these measures. Second, this study includes only CSR performance instead of all other dimensions and categories of CSR. These limitations do not change the conclusions of this research, and they may provide guidance for further investigations.

Practical implications

Given that the CEOs psychological and behavioral features are critical in understanding CSR, shareholders and boards of directors should incorporate the behavioral aspects of narcissistic and overconfident CEOs in the design of CSR strategy.

Originality/value

This study emphasizes the importance of top executives’ psychological characteristics for CSR, which is a key application and complements the “upper echelons theory” and fills the research gap in the literature. This is one of the few studies that investigate the interaction between CG, CEO profile and CSR.
Supply chain strategies as drivers of financial performance in liquefied natural gas networks
Authors: Zubairu Nasiru , Dinwoodie John , Govindan Kannan , Hunter Lise , Roh Saeyeon
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate supply chain strategies (SCSs) that drive financial performance to guide practitioners, especially in liquefied natural gas (LNG) networks, to review and adopt SCSs that drive competitiveness and value creation for investors.

Design/methodology/approach

Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was deployed to prioritise SCSs according to their relative impact on financial performance in LNG networks. Interviews with experts were analysed using template analysis to establish latent drivers of financial performance specific to LNG networks.

Findings

Results support the significant role of SCSs in improving financial performance. Although findings prioritised collaborative strategy as the most important driver of financial performance in LNG networks, to fully optimise financial outcomes, all the SCSs should be implemented across LNG networks as no single strategy in isolation is a standalone driver of financial performance.

Practical implications

The AHP model provides a novel ranking for SCSs and measures to guide decision-makers. LNG practitioners may exploit the results to make informed decisions.

Originality/value

The study extends previous literature by proposing a framework and a new LNG empirical model that facilitates understanding of how SCSs contribute positively to financial performance and support practitioners in making strategic supply chain decisions.
Collaborative governance platform for social innovation in Brussels
Authors: Temmerman Laura , Veeckman Carina , Ballon Pieter
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to share the experience of a collaborative platform for social innovation (SI) in urban governance in Brussels (Belgium) and to formulate recommendations for future initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

The publicly funded collaborative platform “Brussels by us”, which aimed to improve the quality of life in specific neighbourhoods in Brussels (Belgium), is presented as a case study for SI in urban governance. The case study is detailed according to four dimensions based on the SI and living lab literature.

Findings

While the initiative appeared to be a successful exploration platform for collaborative urban governance, it did not evolve into concrete experimentation nor implementation of the solutions. Possible explanations and recommendations are formulated.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper are based on the experience of a one-year initiative. The results should be completed by similar case studies of longitudinal initiatives, and with other levels of implementation such as experimentation and concrete implementation of solutions.

Originality/value

This paper presents a concrete case study of a collaborative platform implemented in a specific neighbourhood in Brussels (Belgium). Its digital and offline approach can help other practitioners, scholars and public institutions to experiment with the living lab methodology for the co-ideation of solution in urban governance. The four-dimensional framework presented in the study can provide future initiatives with a structured reporting and analysis framework, unifying and strengthening know-how in the domain of SI.
Media and group influence on Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products
Authors: Dalziel Riane Cherylise , De Klerk Natasha
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of two potentially important antecedents of female Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products. In particular, the impact of the media and groups is analysed through their influence on subjective norms.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modelling analysis of moment structures was used to propose and test a research model by means of data from a substantial size of female Generation Y consumers.

Findings

The study’s results confirm that female Generation Y consumers have a favourable attitude towards beauty products and that this attitude is influenced by their subjective norms. Furthermore, the findings suggest that group influence, which includes the opinions of friends, family and peers and media influence both predict female Generation Y consumers’ favourable attitude towards beauty products via their influence on this segment’s subjective norms.

Practical implications

These results emphasise the strategic importance of incorporating subjective norms, together with media and group influence into beauty product marketing communication campaigns targeting female Generation Y consumers. Given that this generation is known to be prevalent users of social media and often consult online peer product reviews, such strategies should also be extended beyond traditional media platforms to include social media, particularly social media influencers and online product review platforms, thereby tapping into subjective norms and group influence.

Originality/value

This study contributes to understanding female Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products, especially the combined influence of subjective norms and media and group influence on such attitudes.
Fiber Bragg grating based acceleration sensors: a review
Authors: Guo Yongxing , Chen Min , Xiong Li , Zhou Xinglin , Li Cong
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present the state of the art for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) acceleration sensing technologies from two aspects: the principle of the measurement dimension and the principle of the sensing configuration. Some commercial sensors have also been introduced and future work in this field has also been discussed. This paper could provide an important reference for the research community.

Design/methodology/approach

This review is to present the state of the art for FBG acceleration sensing technologies from two aspects: the principle of the measurement dimension (one-dimension and multi-dimension) and the principle of the sensing configuration (beam type, radial vibration type, axial vibration type and other composite structures).

Findings

The current research on developing FBG acceleration sensors is mainly focused on the sensing method, the construction and design of the elastic structure and the design of a new information detection method. This paper hypothesizes that in the future, the following research trends will be strengthened: common single-mode fiber grating of the low cost and high utilization rate; high sensitivity and strength special fiber grating; multi-core fiber grating for measuring single-parameter multi-dimensional information or multi-parameter information; demodulating equipment of low cost, small volume and high sampling frequency.

Originality/value

The principle of the measurement dimension and principle of the sensing configuration for FBG acceleration sensors have been introduced, which could provide an important reference for the research community.
How do external auditor attributes impact corporate social responsibility disclosures: empirical evidence from ADX-listed companies
Authors: Kolsi Mohamed Chakib , Muqattash Riham , Al-Hiyari Ahmad
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the relationship between the attributes of external auditor companies and voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures of audited firms using a sample of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)-listed companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a sample of 410 firm-year observations for the period 2010–2016, this study first computes an eight-item CSR disclosure index, then ran a multivariate regression analysis between CSR disclosure scores and external auditor attributes, along with client firm characteristics and additional control variables. Finally, this paper performs various additional robustness checks.

Findings

The results reveal that external auditor attributes have a significant impact on shaping the CSR disclosures of ADX-listed firms. Overall, auditor age, size, industry specialisation and portfolio diversification positively affect the level of customers’ CSR disclosures. By contrast, the magnitude of audit fees and auditor experience in the UAE has no impact on the CSR disclosures of ADX-listed firms. This study controls for client firm size, financial leverage, ownership concentration and the proportion of independent directors on companies’ board of directors. The results remain robust to additional sensitivity checks such as audit company CSR practices, extreme quartiles of CSR disclosures and the panel data estimation method.

Research limitations/implications

The research exhibits some limitations. First, this paper uses a simple index to measure CSR disclosures based on previous empirical studies, especially those related to emergent markets, which are not free from bias due to the lack of voluntary disclosure transparency for some companies listed on ADX. Second, although this study uses a seven-year observation period, the total number of observations remains limited due to ADX size. Third, other context-specific disclosures should be included such as cultural and governance variables (royal families ownership).

Practical implications

The study highlights the role of external attributes that can affect companies’ CSR disclosure policy, rather than firm-specific factors. The study also reshapes the concept of auditor quality beyond the dichotomy (“Big Four”/non-Big Four) used in the current literature.

Originality/value

The research adds to the current literature on CSR by revealing the impact of external auditor attributes on client firm CSR disclosure policy in an emerging market, the ADX.
Purchase intention for green brands among Pakistani millennials
Authors: Salam Muhammad Talha , Smith Katherine Taken , Mehboob Faria
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to answer the following questions: What factors influence attitude toward green brands among Pakistani millennials? Does attitude toward green brands affect purchase intention? Does gender moderate the effect?

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected through an online questionnaire distributed through multiple academic and professional networks. The questionnaire was answered by 242 Pakistani millennials. SmartPLS was used to conduct partial least square-structural equation modeling analysis. The analysis was conducted using a two-stage protocol typically followed in SEM analysis. First, an outer model assessment was done to measure construct reliability and validity. This was followed by hypotheses testing in the inner model assessment. Moderating effects were tested using the multigroup analysis feature of SmartPLS.

Findings

The antecedent factors tested in this study are green brand skepticism, environmental consciousness and attitude toward green campaigns. Results show that these factors do influence a person’s attitude toward a green brand, which, in turn, influences his/her purchase intention regarding that brand. Marketers of green brands can use the factors outlined in this study to improve consumer attitudes toward their company and products. This study showed that women are more positively affected by green campaigns. Green campaigns in Pakistan may be more successful if directed at female millennials.

Practical implications

This study conveys helpful implications for marketing managers, as specific antecedents are found to be significant predictors of purchase intention for green brands. Companies should not let the fear of consumer skepticism stop them from advocating their green products and initiatives. Green marketing campaigns can inspire millennials to encourage their social groups to be environmentally conscious. By actively helping the environment, these consumers may feel a sense of pride for their cohort and their country. As a result, Pakistan might undergo a transition to buying green brands, adopting green lifestyles and demanding green products from non-green brands.

Originality/value

Most of the research on green marketing and branding for millennials pertains to developed countries. However, as roughly 90% of the global millennial population live in developing countries, it is important to conduct research in developing countries. This paper specifically focuses on Pakistan, a developing country in South Asia. A propensity toward environmental issues among millennials makes this study an important one, both for the Pakistani market and for generalizations in populated developing countries having a similar profile.