bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrating education for sustainable development into a higher education institution: beginning the journey
Authors: Howarth Richard , Ndlovu Tabani , Ndlovu Sihle , Molthan-Hill Petra , Puntha Helen
Published: January 2024

Much of the current literature on integrating sustainability into HEIs is focussed on why HEIs should embrace sustainable development (SD) and what is still missing or hindering work and the integration of efforts. There is much less exploration of how SD has been interpreted at the individual HEI level and action taken as a result. This case study reflects on important elements of the journey Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the UK has taken to integrate sustainability, focussing on key decisions and activity in 2009/10. In highlighting this, the authors seek to empower those looking to support and/or lead the embedding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), separately or as part of an integrated effort, in their own institution. Today in 2019, NTU is a global leader in integrating ESD as part of a wider SD agenda. The work which this paper presents, to understand and establish a baseline of key elements of NTU's existing ESD activity and systems, was an important turning point. Activities undertaken to review and assess “where are we now?”, primarily through an institution-wide survey in 2009/10, led to important insights and supported dialogue, as well as the connection and underpinning of core administrative elements of the NTU SD framework and systems. Further recommendations are given in the final section of this paper on other drivers that can help to embed ESD within an HEI.
An examination of cross-cultural experiences on developing culturally responsive teacher candidates
Authors: Williams Nakeshia N. , Williams Brian K. , Jones-Fosu Stephanie , Carter Tyrette
Published: January 2024

As the P-12 student landscape continues to grow in cultural and linguistic diversity, teacher preparation programs have yet to adequately prepare teacher candidates' teaching and learning skills in meeting the academic and socio-emotional needs of diverse student demographics. This article examines teacher candidates’ cultural competence and cultural responsiveness to enhance candidates' educator preparation and stimulate candidates' personal growth development as developing culturally and linguistically responsive new teachers. While many teacher preparation programs require one multicultural or diversity education course, the authors examine a minority serving institution's integration of a cultural immersion experience for teacher candidates as one way of supporting their development as culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogues. This paper aims at supporting school districts' need of culturally competent new teachers who have the content knowledge and pedagogy to teach and support culturally and linguistically diverse children. Recognizing this need, this qualitative analysis highlights the importance of and a need for cultural and linguistic competence among teacher candidates. Findings from this study provides a means by which universities can implement cross-cultural coursework and field-based experiences to prepare culturally responsive teacher candidates.
Extending the concept of research impact literacy: levels of literacy, institutional role and ethical considerations
Authors: Bayley Julie , Phipps David
Published: January 2024

Building on the concept of “impact literacy” established in a previous paper from Bayley and Phipps, here we extend the principles of impact literacy in light of further insights into sector practice. More specifically, we focus on three additions needed in response to the sector-wide growth of impact: (1) differential levels of impact literacy; (2) institutional impact literacy and environment for impact; and (3) issues of ethics and values in research impact. This paper invites the sector to consider the relevance of all dimensions in establishing, maintaining and strengthening impact within the research landscape. We explore implications for individual professional development, institutional capacity building and ethical collaboration to maximise societal benefit.
Open access in low- and middle-income countries: attitudes and experiences of researchers
Authors: Nobes Andy , Harris Siân
Published: January 2024

Open access (OA) is often considered as particularly beneficial to researchers in the global south. However, research into awareness of and attitudes to OA has been largely dominated by voices from the global north. A survey was conducted of 507 researchers from the developing world and connected to INASP's AuthorAID project to ascertain experiences and attitudes to OA publishing. The survey revealed problems for the researchers in gaining access to research literature in the first place. There was a very positive attitude to OA research and OA journals, but when selecting a journal in which to publish, OA was seen as a much less important criterion than factors relating to international reputation. Overall, a majority of respondents had published in an OA journal and most of these had paid an article processing charge. Knowledge and use of self-archiving via repositories varied, and only around 20% had deposited their research in an institutional repository. The study also examined attitudes to copyright, revealing most respondents had heard of Creative Commons licences and were positive about the sharing of research for educational use and dissemination, but there was unease about research being used for commercial purposes. Respondents revealed a surprisingly positive stance towards openly sharing research data, although many revealed that they would need further guidance on how to do so. The survey also revealed that the majority had received emails from so called “predatory” publishers and that a small minority had published in them.
A data transformation process for using Benford's Law with bounded data
Authors: McCarville Daniel
Published: January 2024

Benford's Law is an empirical observation about the frequency of digits in a variety of naturally occurring data sets. Auditors and forensic scientists have used Benford's Law to detect erroneous data in accounting and legal usage. One well-known limitation is that Benford's Law fails when data have clear minimum and maximum values. Many kinds of education data, including assessment scores, typically include hard maximums and therefore do not meet the parametric assumptions of Benford's Law. This paper implements a transformation procedure which allows for assessment data to be compared to Benford's Law. As a case study, a data quality assessment of oral language scores from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K) study is used and higher risk data segments detected. The same method could be used to evaluate other concerns, such as test fraud, or other bounded datasets.
Portraying gender in external marketing communication, using the example of a fair fashion label
Authors: Lohmann Juliane , Schmitz Marina , Damme Silvia
Published: January 2024

The topics of gender and sustainability are firmly anchored within a social discourse. Based on both factors, customers are placing demands on companies and have specific ideas on how they should be represented in advertising. The case study presented herein combines these two topics and examines the portrayal of gender in the external marketing communication of the fair fashion label ARMEDANGELS. By analysing individual Instagram publications, the case study identifies how the topic is generally portrayed on the company’s channel. Furthermore, the perspectives of customers are determined through conducted interviews. When comparing the two sides, it becomes apparent that customers mostly approve of the attempt to break with conservative gender roles as well as an equal representation of the male and female personas. In addition to expanding the theoretical considerations of the triple bottom line as well as the S-O-R model, we derive recommendations for ARMEDANGELS and for other companies in the fashion industry. For customer retention purposes, companies should therefore focus on aligning the sexes, breaking with the general gender binary and integrating LGBTQ+ communities in future marketing measures.
The winners and losers in the race to environmental sustainability: a ranking of Summer Olympic International Federation progress
Authors: Santini Dominique , Henderson Holly
Published: January 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate knowledge and benchmark the progress being made across the 32 International Federations (IFs) in the Summer Olympic Programme.

Design/methodology/approach: A website content analysis, analytical hierarchy of information, and social media research was conducted to triangulate the barriers and drivers of environmental sustainability (ES) progress. This data was then analysed to empirically substantiate the findings of previous methods by exploring potential drivers of IF ES progress and communication and refining the ranking of IF ES progress.

Results and findings: World Sailing is by far the most advanced IF in terms of ES progress, followed by World Athletics. Only 4 out of 32 have any sort of strategic ES plans. Only golf, surfing, football, sailing, and hockey have received any academic attention. There is a significant lack of understanding of environmental practices across sport, and their drivers/barriers. There is limited accountability with regards to ES progress and activities throughout the Olympic Movement. This has resulted in uneven diffusion of environmental activities.

Originality: This paper is a new contribution to sport management and ES literature. It provides a benchmark of understanding for ES in the Summer Olympic Programme for the first time using a hierarchy of information to ground results. The exploration and comparison of the perspectives of separate sports adds to the paper's originality.
The COVID-19 pandemic and corporate social responsibility of Korean global firms: from the perspective of stakeholder theory
Authors: Kim Soyeon
Published: January 2024

Background: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous socio-economic problems. All societies worldwide were faced with an emergency situation, and many were puzzled by the implementation of various countermeasures to overcome this situation. Such events call for active engagement and support from the private sector. Noting the expected social role of the private sector, this study builds on stakeholder theory and investigates the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of Korean global firms facing the difficulties of this situation.

Methods: This study collected and analyzed news reports about the CSR activities of three representative Korean global firms (Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Hyundai Motors). News reports posted from January 2019 and after January 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Korea, were collected. From the reports, the main keywords illustrating their CSR activities were extracted, and the frequency of each company was analyzed.

Results: Findings showed that their CSR activities during the COVID-19 pandemic were conducted in a prompt and systemic way. They maintained focus on their main CSR activities, which were closely aligned with their business and CSR visions; simultaneously, they rapidly identified the areas needing support from their daily business activities and responded to them immediately and discretionary. This highlights their genuine motives in their CSR activities and good citizenship, as well as their significant role as rescuers during countrywide disasters.

Conclusions: Supporting stakeholder theory, this study shows the broadly defined CSR activities of Korean global firms focusing on their target stakeholders. The agile and systemic approach to the companies' CSR activities can benefit both society and businesses, contributing to creating social values and sustained co-prosperity with society. Furthermore, this study suggests that a close collaborative relationship with the government can produce a synergistic effect on community building recovering from a nationwide disaster.
Enhancing urban regeneration at the neighbourhood level: the role of sustainability assessment frameworks
Authors: Adewumi Ayomikun Solomon
Published: January 2024

Purpose: Urban centres have been argued to be crucial in the battle for sustainability. With more than half of the global population presently living in cities, the sustainability challenges of global warming, environmental degradation, social inequality, and economic recessions have continued to thrive. To this end, there have been efforts to revive and improve the existing physical and social structure of cities in a process known as urban regeneration. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of sustainability assessment frameworks in urban regeneration.

Approach: Aligning with the positivism philosophical position, and using document analysis as a data collection method, the study discusses the state of the art of urban regeneration and its application in recent times. The study also reviewed selected neighbourhood sustainability assessment frameworks as a tool for decision-making towards sustainability to know the extent in which they capture the goals of urban regeneration.

Findings: Findings showed that the uptake of the sustainability assessment frameworks could play a role in enhancing integration of local context, social wellbeing and economic prosperity, environmental quality, and stakeholder engagement at the neighbourhood level which are the main aspects of urban regeneration.

Theoretical and practical implications: In theory, this paper establishes the assumption that with some revisions, sustainability assessment frameworks could serve as a tool for decision-making in urban regeneration process. Practise-wise, urban regeneration at the neighbourhood level can now be measured against sustainability benchmarks and indicators.
Willingness to accept and willingness to pay for residential properties: a hedonic model approach
Authors: Mishi Syden , Mwanyepedza Robert
Published: January 2024

The world over is becoming urbanized, and people are migrating to cities in large numbers in search of opportunities. The increased urbanization has posed challenges such as congestion, rising crime, and growing urban poverty. The governments respond by providing amenities such as schools, hospitals, and housing to meet to increase in demand for these facilities. However, there is a need for the provision of facilities that meets the expectations of the people, particularly on the proximity of amenities and bundles of utility-bearing housing characteristics. In an attempt to address the challenge mentioned, the study estimated the hedonic characteristics influencing the willingness to accept and willingness to pay for housing facilities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Using a multiple linear regression model and artificial neural network, the study found out that properties with a bathroom, garage and large floor size have a higher value compared to properties without these facilities.When making decisions to acquire a property, buyers consider the availability of discounts and the prevailing property price. Overall, willingness to pay and accept decisions are mainly determined by location and the price at which homogeneous neighborhood properties were sold. Therefore, the study recommends that urban town planners and other housing authorities prioritize the construction of properties with larger floor areas, parking bays, and bathrooms using a cost-effective mechanism that makes the properties affordable to residents.
How COVID-19 has exposed inequalities in the UK food system: the case of UK food and poverty
Authors: Power Maddy , Doherty Bob , Pybus Katie J. , Pickett Kate E.
Published: January 2024

This article draws upon our perspective as academic-practitioners working in the fields of food insecurity, food systems, and inequality to comment, in the early stages of the pandemic and associated lockdown, on the empirical and ethical implications of COVID-19 for socio-economic inequalities in access to food in the UK. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the profound insecurity of large segments of the UK population, an insecurity itself the product of a decade of “austerity” policies. Increased unemployment, reduced hours, and enforced self-isolation for multiple vulnerable groups is likely to lead to an increase in UK food insecurity, exacerbating diet-related health inequalities. The social and economic crisis associated with the pandemic has exposed the fragility of the system of food charity which, at present, is a key response to growing poverty. A vulnerable food system, with just-in-time supply chains, has been challenged by stockpiling. Resultant food supply issues at food banks, alongside rapidly increasing demand and reduced volunteer numbers, has undermined many food charities, especially independent food banks. In the light of this analysis, we make a series of recommendations. We call for an immediate end to the five week wait for Universal Credit and cash grants for low income households. We ask central and local government to recognise that many food aid providers are already at capacity and unable to adopt additional responsibilities. The government's – significant – response to the economic crisis associated with COVID-19 has underscored a key principle: it is the government's responsibility to protect population health, to guarantee household incomes, and to safeguard the economy. Millions of households were in poverty before the pandemic, and millions more will be so unless the government continues to protect household incomes through policy change.
The educator's LSP journey: creating exploratory learning environments for responsible management education using Lego Serious Play
Authors: Gkogkidis Vasilis , Dacre Nicholas
Published: January 2024

Research into responsible management education has largely focused on the merits, attributes, and transformation opportunities to enhance responsible business school education aims. As such, a prominent part of the literature has occupied itself with examining if responsible management modules are inherently considered a non-crucial element of the curriculum and determining the extent to which business schools have introduced such learning content into their curriculum. However, there has been scant research into how to apply novel teaching approaches to engage students and promote responsible management education endeavours. As such, this paper seeks to address this gap through the development of a teaching framework to support educators in designing effective learning environments focused on responsible management education. We draw on constructivist learning theories and Lego Serious Play (LSP) as a learning enhancement approach to develop a pedagogical framework titled The Educator's LSP Journey. LSP is chosen due to its increasing application in learning environments to help promote critical discourse, and engage with highly complex problems, whether these are social, economic, environmental, or organisational. Therefore, this paper contributes to the responsible management education discourse by providing educators with a practical methodology to support student engagement and co-creation of knowledge by fostering exploratory learning environments and enriching the practices of active learning communities.
Increasing accountability for the education of migrant children
Authors: Villegas Leslie
Published: January 2024

As the number of school-aged children living outside their country of birth continues to rise, domestic governments should examine whether their education systems have the appropriate policies and practices in place to provide equitable accountability for migrant students. Specifically, domestic governments should work to ensure immigrant students who are not yet proficient in the host country's language are being systematically identified and provided the language supports necessary to engage in their education.

Over the past two decades, the US has been able to hone its approach to educating immigrant children. Drawing from this experience, this brief will show how the federal government has used education policy to increase access and accountability for immigrant children enrolled in US schools. Specifically, this brief will highlight the policies the US has adopted to facilitate uniform and objective procedures in how schools:

identify immigrant students with linguistic needs upon enrollment;

assess their language skills upon enrollment to create a baseline; and

systemically and continually support and assess immigrant students' linguistic needs to ensure they can engage with age-appropriate academic content.

By highlighting these practices and policies, this brief will show key steps other domestic governments can take to increase the visibility of and accountability over the education of migrant children by ensuring their linguistic needs are proactively addressed.
Standardising multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASH): building a framework to effectively identify and manage risk
Authors: Shorrock Sarah , Parker Steven , Addidle Gareth , Dimelow Mark , Liddle Joyce , Martin Douglas , Procto Tony , Olive Philippa
Published: January 2024

MASH has been a feature of safeguarding practices in England and Wales since 2011, bringing safeguarding agencies together to effectively share information and prevent organizational silos. Core agencies include the police, social care, and health, with key features of co-location, joint decision-making and co-ordination. A standardised definition for MASH implementation does not exist, and this lack of a clear definition has meant various structures have emerged, impacting on safeguarding practices. This policy brief draws on workshops with a range of safeguarding practitioners between May and July 2022, about the challenges of collaborative working practices and how MASH can become more standardised. Whilst national standardisation is required, there needs to be flexibility when implementing guidelines, so that practices and processes reflect regional needs and resources.
Responsible leadership in business and society
Authors: Coovadia Cas
Published: January 2024

South Africa as the most unequal country in the world.
The changing role of hotel attributes in destination competitiveness throughout a crisis
Authors: Albayrak Tahir , Dursun-Cengizci Aslıhan , Fong Lawrence Hoc Nang , Caber Meltem
Published: January 2024

Purpose

By conducting a longitudinal study, this study aims to investigate how the role of hotel attributes in destination competitiveness changed through the stages of pre-, amid and recovery from the crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the latent Dirichlet allocation method was used to identify hotel attributes from 15,137 online reviews, and then a sentiment analysis was performed to determine tourist satisfaction with the subject attributes. Second, separate asymmetric impact competitor analyses were conducted for the three stages of the crisis, and their results were compared with understand how the role of the hotel attributes changed throughout the crisis.

Findings

The results revealed that the impacts of hotel attributes on tourist satisfaction and destination competitiveness differed significantly at each stage of the crisis.

Research limitations/implications

This research expands the existing literature by offering valuable insights by elucidating the changing characteristics of hotel attributes at each crisis stage. The results extend the body of knowledge in destination management by providing evidence on the validity of asymmetric impact competitor analysis.

Originality/value

To fully understand the impact of a crisis (e.g. COVID-19) on destination competitiveness with a focus on the hotel sector, this research conducted a longitudinal study that covers three stages of the crisis (i.e. pre-, amid and post-crisis). Moreover, unlike previous studies, this research considers the asymmetric relationships between service attributes and overall tourist satisfaction, as well as competitors’ information.
The trickle-down effect of leader psychological capital on follower creative performance: the mediating roles of job crafting and knowledge sharing
Authors: Karatepe Osman M. , Ampofo Emmanuel Twumasi , Kim Taegoo Terry , Oh Seokyoun
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a research model that explored leader psychological capital (LPsyCap) as a predictor of follower creative performance (FCRP). The model also investigated follower job crafting (FJC) and follower knowledge collecting (FKC) and follower knowledge donating (FKD) behaviors as the multiple mediators of the trickle-down effect of LPsyCap on FCRP in a sequential manner.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from hotel employees in Korea. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling with the user-defined estimands function.

Findings

LPsyCap boosted employees’ FCRP. FJC and FKC behaviors mediated the trickle-down effect of LPsyCap on FCRP in a sequential manner. As predicted, FKC behavior parallelly mediated the effect of FJC on FCRP.

Practical implications

Hotel firms should boost a workplace that would encourage employees to redefine and redesign their jobs. To achieve this, the presence of structural (e.g. learning new things in the workplace) and social (e.g. supervisor coaching) job resources and challenging job demands (e.g. willingly taking on additional tasks) would pay dividends.

Originality/value

This paper is one of its kind focusing on unexplored parallel and sequential multiple mediation effects that highlight FJC and FKC as the two potential mediators in the association between LPsyCap and FCRP.
How service robots’ human-like appearance impacts consumer trust: a study across diverse cultures and service settings
Authors: Li Yi , Zhou Xinyu , Jiang Xia , Fan Fan , Song Bo
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study aims to compares the effects of different human-like appearances (low vs. medium vs. high) of service robots (SRs) on consumer trust in service robots (CTSR), examines the mediating role of perceived warmth (WA) and perceived competence (CO) and demonstrates the moderating role of culture and service setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design includes three scenario-based experiments (Chinese hotel setting, American hotel setting, Chinese hospital setting).

Findings

Study 1 found SR’s human-like appearance can arouse perceived anthropomorphism (PA), which positively affects CTSR through parallel mediators (WA and CO). Study 2 revealed consumers from Chinese (vs. American) culture had higher CTSR. Study 3 showed consumers had higher WA and CO for SRs in the credence (vs. experience) service setting. The authors also had an exploratory analysis of the uncanny valley phenomenon.

Practical implications

The findings have practical implications for promoting the diffusion of SRs in the hospitality industry. Managers can increase CTSR by augmenting the anthropomorphic design of SRs; however, they must consider the differences in this effect across all service recipients (consumers from different cultures) and service settings.

Originality/value

The authors introduce WA and CO as mediators between PA and CTSR and set the culture and service setting as moderators.
Understanding challenges of GDPR implementation in business enterprises: a systematic literature review
Authors: Smirnova Yelena , Travieso-Morales Victoriano
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The general data protection regulation (GDPR) was designed to address privacy challenges posed by globalisation and rapid technological advancements; however, its implementation has also introduced new hurdles for companies. This study aims to analyse and synthesise the existing literature that focuses on challenges of GDPR implementation in business enterprises, while also outlining the directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of this review follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. It uses an extensive search strategy across Scopus and Web of Science databases, rigorously applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, yielding a detailed analysis of 16 selected studies that concentrate on GDPR implementation challenges in business organisations.

Findings

The findings indicate a predominant use of conceptual study methodologies in prior research, often limited to specific countries and technology-driven sectors. There is also an inclination towards exploring GDPR challenges within small and medium enterprises, while larger enterprises remain comparatively unexplored. Additionally, further investigation is needed to understand the implications of emerging technologies on GDPR compliance.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s limitations include reliance of the search strategy on two databases, potential exclusion of relevant research, limited existing literature on GDPR implementation challenges in business context and possible influence of diverse methodologies and contexts of previous studies on generalisability of the findings.

Originality/value

The originality of this review lies in its exclusive focus on analysing GDPR implementation challenges within the business context, coupled with a fresh categorisation of these challenges into technical, legal, organisational, and regulatory dimensions.
Investigating the link between psychological entitlement and workplace deviance: moderations and post hoc analysis
Authors: Bizri Rima M. , Kertechian Sevag K.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study aims to explore the impact of psychosocial entitlement on workplace deviance, particularly in contexts marked by increased job autonomy. Additionally, this study delves into the organizational factors, including perceived support and justice, which play a crucial role in this dynamic.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying social exchange theory (SET), this study contends that fostering a fair and supportive workplace can deter entitled employees from workplace deviance. This study used time-lagged, multi-source data to analyse the interplay between psychological entitlement and workplace deviance in the presence of job autonomy and to assess the influence of perceived organizational justice and support. This study’s analysis uses SmartPLS for partial least square-structural equation modelling.

Findings

The study’s results indicate an elevated sense of entitlement among employees working autonomously and a heightened propensity for deviant behaviour when psychological entitlement increases. Yet, the data revealed moderating effects of perceived organizational support on the relationship between psychological entitlement and workplace deviance. A post hoc analysis found full mediation effects by psychological entitlement on the relationship between perceived organizational justice and workplace deviance.

Research limitations/implications

To enhance organizational dynamics, management should prioritize promoting employee perceptions of organizational justice and support through impartial human resource policies, consistent policy implementation, initiatives such as virtual learning, improved mental health benefits and measurement tools for feedback on justice and support measures.

Originality/value

An essential theoretical contribution of this research resides in its extension beyond the conventional application of SET, traditionally associated with reciprocity in the workplace. This study showcases its effectiveness in elucidating the impact of psychosocial factors on reciprocity in organizational dynamics.
The impact of supply chain strategy on supply chain transparency over the firm lifecycle: evidence from China
Authors: Wang Qinru , Xu Xiaobo , Wang Yonggui
Published: January 2024

Purpose

In this study, the authors investigate whether supply chain (SC) strategies (lean or agile) improve or hinder the supply chain transparency (SCT) and what factors affect this relation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors measure the level of SC strategy using natural language processing based on the annual financial reports of listed firms. Secondary data analysis is conducted on various databases encompassing 1,241 listed firms in China from 2011 to 2020. Additional tests are performed to assess the robustness of the results, and alternative explanations are duly considered.

Findings

The authors find that firms with an advanced level of SC strategy perform better on SCT. Furthermore, the authors observe that Agile SC strategy and Lean SC strategy have different effects on SCT over a firm’s life cycle. Agile SC strategy (the ratio of the proportion of Agile SC strategy word frequency divided by the proportion of Lean SC strategy word frequency greater than 1) has a significantly positive effect on SCT in the maturity stage; Lean SC strategy (the ratio less than 1) has a positive effect on SCT in the growth and decline stages. An increase in online media coverage negatively moderates the impact of the SC strategy (frequency of Lean and Agile SC strategy-related keywords) on SCT in the maturity stage. An increase in government environmental subsidies positively moderates the impact of SC strategy on SCT in the maturity and decline stages. Additionally, an increase in industrial competition intensity positively moderates the impact of the SC strategy on SCT in the decline stage.

Originality/value

The authors' study contributes to the Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) literature by revealing the positive impact of SC strategy on SCT with objective secondary data. Additionally, the authors examine the moderating effects of moderators over the lifecycle of a firm on this relationship in an emerging market context. The authors' findings offer valuable guidance to companies operating in diverse market environments, providing actionable insights to strengthen their SC strategies and enhance SCT.
A KMP-based interactive learning approach for robot trajectory adaptation with obstacle avoidance
Authors: Xiao Sa , Chen Xuyang , Lu Yuankai , Ye Jinhua , Wu Haibin
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Imitation learning is a powerful tool for planning the trajectory of robotic end-effectors in Cartesian space. Present methods can adapt the trajectory to the obstacle; however, the solutions may not always satisfy users, whereas it is hard for a nonexpert user to teach the robot to avoid obstacles in time as he/she wishes through demonstrations. This paper aims to address the above problem by proposing an approach that combines human supervision with the kernelized movement primitives (KMP) model.

Design/methodology/approach

This approach first extracts the reference database used to train KMP from demonstrations by using Gaussian mixture model and Gaussian mixture regression. Subsequently, KMP is used to modulate the trajectory of robotic end-effectors in real time based on feedback from its interaction with humans to avoid obstacles, which benefits from a novel reference database update strategy. The user can test different obstacle avoidance trajectories in the current task until a satisfactory solution is found.

Findings

Experiments performed with the KUKA cobot for obstacle avoidance show that this approach can adapt the trajectories of the robotic end-effector to the user’s wishes in real time, including trajectories that the robot has already passed and has not yet passed. Simulation comparisons also show that it exhibits better performance than KMP with the original reference database update strategy.

Originality/value

An interactive learning approach based on KMP is proposed and verified, which not only enables users to plan the trajectory of robotic end-effectors for obstacle avoidance more conveniently and efficiently but also provides an effective idea for accomplishing interactive learning tasks under constraints.
Whether the Chinese provinces have achieved their potential efficiency in economic growth?
Authors: Kelkar Raghuvir , Kalirajan Kaliappa
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Most economic growth is concentrated in the eastern and coastal provinces of China, while the western and central provinces have not yet experienced the expected economic growth. This study aims to address the following crucial research questions: Do the central and western provinces achieved potential efficiency in economic growth? Have China’s provinces used their resources effectively in implementing economic growth strategies?

Design/methodology/approach

The research design concerns the use of a panel dataset on province-specific economic growth in China over the years to 2000–2020. The methodology used was a stochastic frontier gross domestic product (GDP) model with time-varying technical efficiency over time. The approach uses the existing literature to identify the important variables influencing economic growth at the provincial level to model the stochastic frontier GDP model for empirical analysis.

Findings

This study concludes that the central provinces show the highest rate of efficiency in economic growth, though not 100%, followed by the Eastern and Western provinces. By increasing and improving skilled education institutes and intensifying supply chain opportunities through foreign direct investment (FDI), the central provinces achieving 100% growth efficiency may not be ruled out.

Research limitations/implications

The modes of economic governance and policies to improve GDP growth have been rapidly changing from increasing incentives to improving competition. Thus, more unique avenues and expansion of the horizon for impending research on provincial, national and international macroeconomics would emerge that would make current methodologies of the growth analysis outdated.

Practical implications

The empirical analysis highlights the importance of improving skilled education institutes and intensifying supply chain opportunities through FDI for achieving sustained economic growth.

Social implications

The empirical analysis facilitates finding ways to reduce income inequality across provinces in China.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge empirical analysis examining the Chinese province-specific economic growth efficiency explicitly has not been carried out using the recent Chinese panel dataset.
Impact of analytical alignment on a paradox mindset and resilience
Authors: Yoo Dong , Roh James
Published: January 2024

Purpose

In a fast-paced and hypercompetitive environment, organizational members are awash with paradoxes where they are forced to accomplish opposing goals simultaneously (“both/and”) instead of choosing one over the other (“either/or”). The literature has acknowledged paradox as a common type of contradiction in managing information and information technology (IT), but few studies have investigated how individuals can leverage paradoxical tensions. Drawing upon paradox theory, this study develops a research model that embodies a “both/and” paradigm in paradoxical tensions via analytical alignment, a paradox mindset and resilience under environmental dynamism.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the research model using hierarchical regression analysis with 308 analytics experts.

Findings

Empirical results find that the alignment of analytical technology and data-driven culture (AT-2DC) has a positive effect on a paradox mindset. Results also show that a paradox mindset has a positive influence on resilience. AT-2DC alignment also mediates the relationship between paradox mindset and resilience. In addition, AT-2DC alignment is more critical to a paradox mindset under a high level of environmental dynamism.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on how individuals can leverage paradoxical tensions with a “both/and” perspective and stay resilient when managing opposing demands and changes.
Malls designed for inclusion? Emotional experience of irritating aspects of the mallscape that distance consumers with disabilities
Authors: Vilnai-Yavetz Iris , Gilboa Shaked , Mitchell Vincent
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study aims to identify the irritating aspects in the mall environment that impact shoppers with disability and explore the opportunities to design inclusive mall environments.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods design was used in which data collected using a survey (n = 1,434 shoppers with and without disability) were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) and repeated-measures two-way ANOVA. In addition, qualitative data were obtained from critical incident technique (CIT) stories (n = 521) from shoppers with and without disability.

Findings

Mall environmental irritants evoke feelings of irritation that mediate the impacts of “inconvenient ambient conditions,” “the annoying socialscape” and “overwhelming design and atmospherics” on decreased mall-visit frequency. Compared with shoppers without disability, shoppers with disability suffer more from these irritating aspects of the mall environment, as evidenced by significantly greater high-activation unpleasant emotions. The “poor access and accessibility” category of irritants mainly affects the mall experiences of shoppers with disability.

Practical implications

Based on the findings, this study offers spatial-, temporal-, social-, material- and virtual-oriented recommendations for the design of inclusive retail spaces. The authors suggest that people with disability have a unique “lived experience” perspective on retail environments and that solutions should be co-created based on ongoing consultations with shoppers and employees with disability.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study offers the first systematic, comprehensive comparison of the impact of environmental irritants on shoppers with and without disability and extends the literature on irritating aspects of retail environments from individual stores to malls.
Do social media marketing activities promote customer loyalty? A study on the e-commerce industry
Authors: Banerji Rashi , Singh Animesh
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The research paper examines the impact of perceived social media marketing activities (SMMAs) (interaction, entertainment, customization, trendiness and word of mouth (WOM)) on customer loyalty (CL) toward e-commerce providers. The study also explores the mediating role of customer relationship quality (CRQ) (commitment, trust and satisfaction) on the relationship between perceived SMMAs and CL.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the S-O-R model, which states that characteristics of the environment (stimulus) arouse a cognitive state (organism) that results in positive or negative behavior (response). The present study proposes the characteristics of the e-commerce environment as stimuli (S), the inner state of customers as an organism (O) and consumer behavior as the response (R). This study investigated the responses of 487 social media users through structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The results offer three crucial findings. First, the study validated that perceived SMMA comprises five dimensions (interaction, entertainment, customization, trendiness and WOM) in the Indian e-commerce context. Second, perceived SMMA significantly influences CRQ (commitment, trust and satisfaction). Third, CRQ significantly mediates the relationship between perceived SMMA and CL.

Originality/value

The study attempts to understand the effect of perceived SMMA on CL via CRQ in an e-commerce context, especially in an emerging economy like India. The present study argues that the SMMA of e-commerce is likely to be reflected in CL when the consumers experience CRQ through commitment, trust and satisfaction. Thus exploring the mediating role of CRQ is the authors' contribution.
Do female chief financial officers and female directors cooperate? Evidence from investment efficiency
Authors: Ismail Ismaanzira , Abdul Wahab Effiezal Aswadi
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether the cooperation between female chief financial officers (CFO) and the proportion of female directors would impact investment efficiency. The investigation is grounded in the increasing number of female top managers globally and the notion that female tends to cooperate more with other female than with male.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses publicly listed firms in Bursa Malaysia from 2016 to 2020, which yielded a sample of 2,022 firm-year observations. The authors used multivariate ordinary least square regression to test the relationship, and to correct for the selection bias, the Heckman selection and PSM test were used.

Findings

The authors find a positive relationship between female CFOs and investment efficiency. A higher proportion of female directors accentuates this result. The findings support the homophily argument that similar characteristics (gender) promote cooperation. This shows that cooperation between female CFOs and directors improves investment efficiency. The results suggest that the improvement in investment efficiency could relate to higher managerial discretion for female CFOs and their ability to collaborate with female directors. These results are robust to a series of additional endogeneity tests. The findings have important implications for policymakers and firms to encourage more appointments of females in top management positions.

Originality/value

By highlighting the cooperation between female CFOs and female directors, this study contributes to the understanding that cooperation among females improves investment efficiency.
Exploring digital innovation in smart tourism destinations: insights from 31 premier tourist cities in digital China
Authors: Xu Jin , Shi Pei Hua , Chen Xi
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study aims to unveil the pivotal components and implementation pathways in the digital innovation of smart tourism destinations, while constructing a theoretical framework from a holistic perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The research focuses on 31 significant urban smart tourism destinations in China. Secondary data was collected through manual search supplemented by big data scraping, whereas primary data was obtained from interviews with municipal tourism authorities. Grounded theory was used to theoretically construct the phenomenon of digital innovation in smart tourism destinations.

Findings

This research has formulated a data-driven knowledge framework for digital innovation in smart tourism destinations. Core components include digital organizational innovation, smart data platforms, multi-stakeholder digital collaborative ecosystem and smart tourism scenario systems. Destinations can achieve smart tourism scene innovation through closed innovation driven by smart data platforms or open innovation propelled by a multi-stakeholder digital collaborative ecosystem.

Practical implications

Based on insights from digital innovation practices, this study proposes a series of concrete recommendations aimed at assisting Destination Management Organizations in formulating and implementing more effective digital innovation strategies to enhance the sustainable digital competitiveness of destinations.

Originality/value

This study advances smart tourism destination innovation research from localized thinking to systemic thinking; extends digital innovation theory into the realm of smart tourism destination innovation; repositions the significance of knowledge in smart tourism destination innovation; and constructs a comprehensive framework for digital innovation in smart tourism destinations.