bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glass Cliffs at middle management levels: an experimental study
Authors: Esposito Saadet Elif
Published: January 2021

Purpose

A new phenomenon called “Glass Cliff” has formed claiming that women at the higher echelons of organizations are being placed in higher risk positions when compared to men. The purpose of this research study is to examine whether this phenomenon occurs at the middle to upper middle management levels for women. If so, it can possibly be one of the many underlying reasons that contribute to the grounds of why the pipeline problem exists with female leadership at the top-level management positions.

Design/methodology/approach

The design considers competing hypotheses based on the emerging, contradictory research on the Glass Cliff and the more established perspective of social norms and implicit biases. The experimental study is conducted on 202 participants to examine the likelihood of occurrence of this phenomenon at middle to upper middle management levels.

Findings

Counter to the tenets pertaining to the Glass Cliff phenomenon but consistent with the implicit leadership theories, this research study revealed that when compared to the female candidate, the male candidate was more likely to be assigned to the higher risk position.

Research limitations/implications

The subjective nature of the study can be the reason for variations of each participant and their biases since it is a specific experiment dealing with perceptions, social norms and prejudice.

Originality/value

This phenomenon is mostly studied at the executive level and can contribute to the pipeline problem for women, hence this study provides insight and examines the phenomenon at the middle to upper middle management levels to examine its likelihood.
Quality improvement of smart senior care service platform in China based on grey relational analysis and Fuzzy-QFD
Authors: Xu Lan , Zhang Yu
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Smart senior care industry in China currently faces a series of practical difficulties such as an imbalance in the demand and supply structure, service products unable to cater to the actual needs of the elderly and a low degree of marketization. This study therefore proposes using grey relational analysis and the Fuzzy-quality function development (QFD) quality improvement method to help solve these problems.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method converts the fuzzy requirements of the elderly into the technical characteristics of technologically augmented senior care service products. It then, uses the QFD relationship matrix, combined with grey relational analysis, to analyze the relationship between the needs of elderly and the converted technical characteristics, and subsequently identifies key technical characteristics.

Findings

Results show that an improvement in the smart senior care service platform according to the differences of the elderly's preferences can significantly improve users' satisfaction with the service in addition to enhancing market competitiveness of the technologically assisted senior care service products.

Originality/value

A novel method to improve the need of smart senior care is proposed by considering age difference. The proposed grey relational analysis and Fuzzy-QFD quality improvement method can help improve the service quality of the smart senior care service platform.
On the existence and uniqueness of solution for squeezing nanofluid flow problem and Green–Picard’s iteration
Authors: Esmaeili Mostafa , Hashemi Mehne Hamed , Ganji D.D.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the idea of solving the problem of squeezing nanofluid flow between two parallel plates using a novel mathematical method.

Design/methodology/approach

The unsteady squeezing flow is a coupled fourth-order boundary value problem with flow velocity and temperature as the desired unknowns. In the first step, the conditions that guarantee the existence of a unique solution are obtained. Then following Green’s function-based approach, an iterative method for solving the problem is developed.

Findings

The accuracy of the method is examined by comparing the obtained results with existing numerical data, indicating excellent agreement between the two. In addition, the effects of nanoparticle shape and volume fraction on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are addressed. The results reveal that although the nanoparticle shape strongly affects the temperature distribution in the squeezing flow, it only has a slight impact on the velocity field. Furthermore, the highest and lowest Nusselt numbers belong to the platelets and spherical nanoparticles, respectively.

Originality/value

A semi-analytical method with computational support is developed for solving the unsteady squeezing flow problem. Moreover, the existence and uniqueness of the solution are discussed for the first time.
Survival and competitiveness of traditional travel agencies in Malaysia: a qualitative enquiry
Authors: Munikrishnan Uma Thevi , Mamun Abdullah Al
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Empirical evidence is insufficient to explain which factors contribute to the survival and competitiveness of traditional travel agencies (TTAs). Malaysian TTAs are rather slow in information communication technology (ICT). However, several initiatives by the government were directed to enhance ICT adoption. Furthermore, the non-ICT factors to remain competitive by the TTAs were not sufficiently studied. The purpose of this study is to close the gap by examining the perceived factors that influence the survival and competitiveness of Malaysian TTAs.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used qualitative multiple case studies method to ensure that the issues were explored through multiple lenses. Semi-structured interviews and direct observation are used to collect data from 15 TTAs and industry experts in Malaysia.

Findings

This study found that the key to remain competitive and relevant is to co-exist with technology and embrace proactive strategies (i.e., competitive aggression, public relation, dependence development, smoothing, cooperative, and manoeuvring strategies).

Originality/value

Travel and tourism industries have long been acknowledged to provide an impetus for the economic growth of developing and developed economies. TTA is the key component in the global tourism activities in promoting tourism products and services. However, they are threatened by the continuous growth in ICT. Past literature reviewed TTAs that operate in the highly competitive and volatile environment due to various external forces such as technological advancement, fierce competition from the virtual travel agencies and global economic condition. This study provided empirical evidence contributed to the survival and competitiveness of TTAs in Malaysia.
A bibliometric analysis of quality research papers in Islamic finance: evidence from Web of Science
Authors: Tijjani Bashir , Ashiq Murtaza , Siddique Nadeem , Khan Muhammad Ajmal , Rasul Aamir
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide quantitative information on the growth of Islamic finance literature. The study focused on publishing trends, countries producing research on Islamic finance, key authors, major contributing organizations, authorship patterns, keywords and articles with the highest citations.

Design/methodology/approach

Bibliometric analysis is applied to analyse the growth and publishing trends in Islamic finance literature. The Web of Science (WoS) database was used to extract bibliometric data covering the period 1939–2019 for Islamic finance literature.

Findings

The study finds that Islamic finance research has gained remarkable momentum in the literature. However, such growth is largely manifested in Malaysia because of a conducive atmosphere for this type of research. Interestingly, the study finds that the three most productive journals are located in the UK and Malaysia, while Professor M. Kabir Hassan from the University of New Orleans, the USA appears to head the list of authors with 23 publications on Islamic finance.

Practical implications

This study provides up-to-date literature on the current state of Islamic finance in the world; as a result, it supports the development of policies by the Islamic finance industry. The findings of the study also serve as a reference point for Islamic finance training and educational institutions.

Originality/value

Islamic finance is an emerging financial discipline; as such, there is a need for more awareness of this financial system in the world. Muslim-majority countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan and Bahrain, have to include Islamic finance in their curriculum and establish research institutions and research journals. In addition, Arabic language journals should be indexed in WoS and/or Scopus to provide a high-quality publication platform. This study provides a more comprehensive bibliometric analysis on the growth of Islamic finance literature (1939–2019) in the WoS database; most of the prior studies have covered relatively few areas of focus and a lower range of years in some cases.
Critical review of literature on Lean Six Sigma methodology
Authors: Patel Anand S. , Patel Kaushik M.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an initial understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology since its inception and examine the few Lean Six Sigma dimensions as a research domain through a critical review of the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is structured in two-part. The first part of the paper attempts to dwell on the evolution of the Lean Philosophy and Six Sigma methodology individually and the emergence of Lean Six Sigma methodology, covered under the Lean Six Sigma: a historical outline section. The second part of the study examines the dimensions associated with Lean Six Sigma such as frameworks, critical success factors, critical failure factors, type of industry, performance metric, year, publisher and journal, based on a total of 223 articles published in 72 reputed journals from the year 2000 to 2019 as a literature review.

Findings

The adoption of Lean Six Sigma, as a continuous improvement methodology, has grown enormously in the manufacturing and few service sectors such as health care and higher education during the past decade. The study revealed that researchers came out with conceptual frameworks for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, whereas the validation through case studies seems to be lacking. The integration of Lean Six Sigma and other approaches with a focus on sustainability and the environment has emerged as a research field. A few of the most common critical success and failure factors were identified from the articles studied during the study.

Research limitations/implications

This paper may not have included some of the studies due to the inaccessibility and selection criteria followed for the study.

Originality/value

This paper will provide an initial introduction on Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma and research insights Lean Six Sigma to beginners such as students, researchers and entry-level professionals.
Work-life interference: a perpetual struggle for women employees
Authors: Shabir Sana , Khan Omar Fayaz , Gani Abdul
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The turn of the twenty-first century witnessed significant shifts in the global work environment that led to employees’ personal and professional lives witnessing dynamic transformations. Work-life interference has become the norm rather than the exception for most employees, who, of late, experience more significant interference in balancing work obligations and family responsibilities. This study aims to examine the bi-directional interference experienced by working women in India’s health-care sector.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, 850 questionnaires were distributed to selected health-care workers in Northern India. After eliminating the invalid questionnaires, 782 valid questionnaires were retained and used for further analyzes.

Findings

The study results revealed that working women in a collectivistic culture such as India experience higher work interference on personal life than personal life interference on work in the health sector. However, women health-care workers with higher support from their employers, families and colleagues experienced lower interference levels. Therefore, health organizations need to put a system in place to ensure the least interference in women employees’ personal lives by providing both emotional and institutional support.

Originality/value

This study undertakes to conceptualize the bidirectional nature of the work-life interface among India’s health-care workers. The findings would direct employers, employees and the practitioners involved in the health-care sector to execute policies and practices that attempt to facilitate work-life integration among the workers and generate positive organizational outcomes.
Structuring the phenomenon of procurement digitalisation: contexts, interventions and mechanisms
Authors: Lorentz Harri , Aminoff Anna , Kaipia Riikka , Srai Jagjit Singh
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The study develops a structure for procurement digitalisation by identifying its context drivers, technology interventions and performance-inducing mechanisms and exploring the linkages between these variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on rich interview and workshop data on 48 digital intervention projects, as reflected by mental models of managers from 12 case organisations in manufacturing, retail and service sectors. Supported by ana prioristructure, the study employs an abductive cross-case analysis approach.

Findings

Results suggest several categories within the elements of context, intervention and mechanism to structure procurement digitalisation and the linkages between them. Seven propositions that reflect digitalisation strategy options in procurement are developed regarding the linkages. Internal complexity dominantly drives procurement digitalisation, motivating communication support and process structuring interventions, which in turn aim at procurement coordination and control as well as process improvement. External coercive pressure and external dynamism also drive interventions for information processing and decision aiding, which appear to be linked with supply market knowledge, strategic alignment and supplier capability assessment. Therefore, an internal–external dichotomy is observed as the main thrust of procurement digitalisation.

Practical implications

The study supports decision makers in developing digitalisation strategy options for different procurement contexts. The results also raise awareness of a possible bias in existing strategies for procurement digitalisation.

Originality/value

A novel forward-looking approach is employed to enable the design and construction of systems that do not yet exist by focusing on the mental models of managers in a systematic way.
Middle manager capabilities and organisational performance: the mediating effect of organisational capacity for change
Authors: Sukoco Badri Munir , Lestari Yetty Dwi , Susanto Ely , Nasution Reza Ashari , Usman Indrianawati
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the mechanism that transforms middle manager capabilities (MMCs) into organisational performance (OP). This study proposes that organisational capacity for change (OCC) might mediate the relationship between MMCs and OP.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed hypotheses were tested using data derived from a survey distributed to 89 heads of department of 34 subjects from the 11 top universities in Indonesia.

Findings

The findings indicate that MMCs positively influence OCC and OP and that OCC positively influences the OP. Furthermore, the authors found that OCC mediates the positive effect of MMCs on OP.

Originality/value

The authors empirically investigated the hypothesis that MMCs, in the context of higher education, play a crucial role in determining OCC and OP. Furthermore, the capacity of organisations to adapt to the changing environment mediates the capabilities of the middle managers in relation to OP. In addition, the authors empirically investigated OCC in three dimensions (learning, process and context) that were previously only proposed and discussed conceptually.
Impact of large-scale agricultural investment on the livelihood assets of local community in Gambella region, Ethiopia
Authors: Guyalo Amanuel Kussia , Alemu Esubalew Abate , Degaga Degefa Tolossa
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The Ethiopian government is promoting large-scale agricultural investment in lowland regions of the country, claiming that the investment could improve livelihoods of the local people. The outcomes of the investment, however, have been a controversial issue in public and academic discourses. Particularly, studies that quantify the impact of such investment on the asset base of local people are extremely limited. The main purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate the actual effect of the investment on the asset of the local people and inform policy decision.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a quasi-experimental research design and a mixed research approach. Data were collected from 342 households drawn through a systematic sampling technique and analysed by using multiple correspondence analysis and propensity score matching.

Findings

The study finds that the investment has a significant negative impact on the wealth status of affected households and deteriorated their asset base.

Practical implications

The results imply that inclusive and fair business models that safeguard the benefits of the investment hosting community and encourage a strong collaboration and synergy between the community and private investors are needed.

Originality/value

This study analyses the impact of large-scale agricultural investment on the asset of affected community based on various livelihood capital. In doing so, it significantly contributes to knowledge gap in the empirical literature. It also contributes to the ongoing academic and policy debates based on actual evidence collected from local community.
Exploring the influence of multimodal social media data on stock performance: an empirical perspective and analysis
Authors: Yuan Hui , Tang Yuanyuan , Xu Wei , Lau Raymond Yiu Keung
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Despite the extensive academic interest in social media sentiment for financial fields, multimodal data in the stock market has been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of multimodal social media data on stock performance, and investigate the underlying mechanism of two forms of social media data, i.e. text and pictures.

Design/methodology/approach

This research employs panel vector autoregressive models to quantify the effect of the sentiment derived from two modalities in social media, i.e. text information and picture information. Through the models, the authors examine the short-term and long-term associations between social media sentiment and stock performance, measured by three metrics. Specifically, the authors design an enhanced sentiment analysis method, integrating random walk and word embeddings through Global Vectors for Word Representation (GloVe), to construct a domain-specific lexicon and apply it to textual sentiment analysis. Secondly, the authors exploit a deep learning framework based on convolutional neural networks to analyze the sentiment in picture data.

Findings

The empirical results derived from vector autoregressive models reveal that both measures of the sentiment extracted from textual information and pictorial information in social media are significant leading indicators of stock performance. Moreover, pictorial information and textual information have similar relationships with stock performance.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that incorporates multimodal social media data for sentiment analysis, which is valuable in understanding pictures of social media data. The study offers significant implications for researchers and practitioners. This research informs researchers on the attention of multimodal social media data. The study’s findings provide some managerial recommendations, e.g. watching not only words but also pictures in social media.
Limits of artificial intelligence in controlling and the ways forward: a call for future accounting research
Authors: Losbichler Heimo , Lehner Othmar M.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Looking at the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) and controlling based on complexity and system-theoretical deliberations, the authors aimed to derive a future outlook of the possible applications and provide insights into a future complementary of human–machine information processing. Derived from these examples, the authors propose a research agenda in five areas to further the field.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is conceptual in its nature, yet a theoretically informed semi-systematic literature review from various disciplines together with empirically validated future research questions provides the background of the overall narration.

Findings

AI is found to be severely limited in its application to controlling and is discussed from the perspectives of complexity and cybernetics. A total of three such limits, namely the Bremermann limit, the problems with a partial detectability and controllability of complex systems and the inherent biases in the complementarity of human and machine information processing, are presented as salient and representative examples. The authors then go on and carefully illustrate how a human–machine collaboration could look like depending on the specifics of the task and the environment. With this, the authors propose different angles on future research that could revolutionise the application of AI in accounting leadership.

Research limitations/implications

Future research on the value promises of AI in controlling needs to take into account physical and computational effects and may embrace a complexity lens.

Practical implications

AI may have severe limits in its application for accounting and controlling because of the vast amount of information in complex systems.

Originality/value

The research agenda consists of five areas that are derived from the previous discussion. These areas are as follows: organisational transformation, human–machine collaboration, regulation, technological innovation and ethical considerations. For each of these areas, the research questions, potential theoretical underpinnings as well as methodological considerations are provided.
Antecedents and consequences of market orientation in international B2B market: role of export assistance as a moderator
Authors: Mostafiz Md Imtiaz , Sambasivan Murali , Goh See Kwong
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The significance of market orientation (MO) in industrial marketing literature is immense. Separately, the role of dynamic managerial capability (DMC) as an individual-level capability has been found to be beneficial to business-to-business (B2B) transactions. However, the assessments of DMC as the antecedent to complement MO in achieving firm performance are rare. To address this knowledge gap, this study builds upon a research framework on the DMC theory and MO literature. Additionally, this study aims to investigate how export assistance avails MO-firm performance relationship and assists entrepreneurs to thrive in the international market.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted among the entrepreneurial export manufacturing firms in the apparel industry in Bangladesh. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the hypothesized relationship among 329 firms.

Findings

Two attributes of DMC, namely, managerial social capital and managerial cognition of entrepreneurs improve the MO process of export manufacturing firms. MO mediates the relationship between DMC and firm performance. Additionally, export assistance positively moderates the relationship between MO and the financial performance of the firm.

Originality/value

MO requires complementary capabilities to realize the value of it efficiently. This study strongly advocates entrepreneurs to nurture DMC to leverage MO and capitalize on emerging opportunities by productively using export assistance. Firms in the emerging economies often suffer from resource-scarcity and export assistance mitigates barriers to expand international operations and yield financial liberty to the firms operating in the international B2B market.
Family dynamics and delinquency: understanding the experience of female adolescents with their families
Authors: Sumari Melati , Baharudin Dini Farhana , Ahmed Tharbe Ida Hartina , A. Razak Norsafatul Aznin , Md Khalid Norfaezah
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the family experiences of delinquent adolescents and uses a descriptive phenomenological research design.

Design/methodology/approach

The study explores the family experiences of delinquent adolescents and uses a descriptive phenomenological research design. Eight adolescents that were under detainment in a rehabilitation centre in Malaysia participated in the study. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals.

Findings

Five themes common to the participants’ experience were inductively identified from the analysis. These were: life without guidance, alienation and isolation, conflict on how the family is managed; I am still a little child and prisoners at home.

Originality/value

Despite many studies on delinquent adolescents were conducted in Malaysia, no study has been conducted so far to explore and understand the experience of female adolescents in their families.
Engaging interaction and long-term engagement with WhatsApp in an everyday life context: exploratory study
Authors: Martinez-Comeche Juan-Antonio , Ruthven Ian
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The aim of this exploratory study is to analyze if the most used factors related to the engaging interaction and long-term engagement with online applications can be applied to WhatsApp in a context of everyday life in Madrid and to investigate what parameters would best describe the engagement with WhatsApp in this context.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative method was employed to explore the cognitive, emotional and behavioral factors that mainly comprise the experience of a user with an online application, both at a point in time and over time. Data from 30 semi-structured interviews and questionnaires from six group chats were collected and analyzed. The sample was made up of people aged from 13 to 58 years old.

Findings

Findings suggest that the factors used in this study to evaluate long-term engagement and engaging interactions with WhatsApp are relevant, except for cognitive factors related to engaging interactions, indicating that the cognitive point of view is more difficult to apply in the engaging interaction analysis. Other attributes related to information retrieval are suggested, best suited to the informative use of this tool.

Originality/value

Long-term engagement studies are scarcer concerning Mobile Instant Messaging applications. Regarding engagement interaction, its analysis focusing on WhatsApp has not been approached. This study suggests the convenience of using parameters related to information to evaluate the engaging interaction, according to the informative use of the application.
Blockchain and corporate fraud
Authors: Benedetti Hugo , Nikbakht Ehsan , Sarkar Sayan , Spieler Andrew Craig
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop conceptual designs for blockchain implementations aimed at reducing corporate fraud. The proposed framework consists of different levels of implementation with specific examples for each level.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a multi-level framework to highlight the properties of blockchain technology as suitable for reducing corporate fraud. The five levels of technological complexity designed for this research include information storage, information flow, information processing, information enhancement and information and financial integration. Specific cases of corporate fraud are discussed to complement the proposed methodology.

Findings

The potential ability to limit fraud and increase transparency could greatly improve faith in financial reporting. These benefits accrue to all capital market participants. The blockchain infrastructure can significantly improve the existing monitoring system and provide value added in detecting, deterring, and documenting possible fraud.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the growing field on corporate fraud and blockchain technology. The paper is novel in the implementation of the nascent blockchain methods to detect and deter fraud at the organizational level. The proposed five conceptual levels provide practical use.
Critical assessment of Islamic financial assets pricing in South-East Asia: evidence from NARDL modelling
Authors: Salami Monsurat Ayojimi
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to critically examine the pricing of Islamic financial assets (Sharīʿah-compliant assets, Sharīʿah-compliant securities, Sharīʿah-compliant financing and Sukuk) in the three South-East Asia countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei to provide necessary information to the policymakers and Islamic finance investors for making a sound decision.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used secondary data and used the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lags (NARDL) model to estimate the reaction of Islamic financial assets in South-East Asia towards price changes. Wald-test was used to diagnose the final model.

Findings

The result of this study shows that the majority of Islamic financial assets in the three South-East Asia countries exhibit positive and negative long-run effects. The findings reveal a long-run asymmetric relationship that supports rockets and feathers effects. The indication is that Islamic financial assets pricing deviates from weak form EMH. Pricing of Islamic financial assets reveals unfair pricing.

Practical implications

Price adjustment of Islamic financial assets requires urgent attention of policymakers to prevent Sharīʿah non-compliant risk. Therefore, the Shariah advisory board in those countries, Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and Islamic Financial Services Board are hereby advised to act on the factors that might enable rockets and feathers effects on the pricing of Islamic financial assets, as the long-run asymmetric relationship is established.

Originality/value

This study is novel as it critically and simultaneously examines the pricing behaviour of Islamic financial assets in the three South-East Asian countries. The findings from the study provide vital information on the pricing behaviour of Islamic financial assets to the policymakers and investors.
At the intersection of workplace spirituality and Buddhist psychology: a critical summary of literature
Authors: Marques Joan
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute or rekindle internal and external dialogues about the interactions, decisions and behaviour in the work environments; while also consider some critical overarching values that can help workforce members cope with the stress and pressure, which augment as the speed of life increases.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used in this project is an integrative literature review, supported by, findings and reflections from two doctoral dissertations: one in workplace spirituality and one in Buddhist psychology; and the researcher’s analysis and joint application of these two streams over the past decade.

Findings

Workplace spirituality and Buddhist psychology share overlapping, multi-interpretable traits, with as the main discrepancies that workplace spirituality is a relatively new concept, while Buddhist psychology has been around for more than 2,500 years; and workplace spirituality focusses only on the workplace, while Buddhist psychology focusses on every area of the life. Yet, the overarching notion of doing right while respecting and accepting others and aiming for an overarching better quality of life remains a strong driver in both realms.

Research limitations/implications

This paper will hopefully entice future researchers to engage in additional studies on spiritual intersections to expand on such databases and enhance awareness, acceptance and implementation amongst scholars and practitioners in business settings.

Practical implications

Exploring intersections of behavioural disciplines such as workplace spirituality and Buddhist psychology addresses an important need within workforce members and therewith also those within their social circles, as they evoke deeper and consistent contemplation on the aspects that connect us together and can enhance overall well-being and happiness at a greater magnitude than, this study experiences it today.

Social implications

The study aims to deliver a contribution to the database of awareness-enhancing literature, in an effort to help spawn dialogue and critical thinking about the attitudes and behaviours towards ourselves, others and the future.

Originality/value

This paper presents an overview of themes in two psychological streams, both focussing on living and acting with greater consciousness, to make more mindful decisions, improve the overall experience of cooperating towards a common good and understand the responsibility towards creating a future that will be sustainable rather than destroyed.
Internal and external antecedents of open innovation adoption in IT organisations: insights from an emerging market
Authors: Bhatti Sabeen Hussain , Santoro Gabriele , Sarwar Aisha , Pellicelli Anna Claudia
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to propose and test a theoretical model exploring the impact of internal and external factors of social media use by IT organisations on open innovation (OI) adoption with the mediating effect of knowledge management capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 200 IT firms and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data of this study and to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results revealed that both customer involvement in social media and top management support (TMS) for social media had a significant impact on OI adoption. However, only the relationship between TMS for social media usage and OI link was mediated by knowledge management capability.

Practical implications

This study stresses the importance of social media policy development for business managers to create an interactive platform for their customers to participate in the activities of the firm. Moreover, the results suggest that for developing open knowledge management capabilities, leaders must focus on and support the use of social media technologies by the firms.

Originality/value

Social media technologies have taken the world by storm. Organisations and individuals are influenced by the knowledge available on Web 2.0 platforms. Most of the current research has focussed on the impact of social media use on OI in developed countries, but developing nations on the Asian continent have been left out of this discussion. Moreover, while most studies have focussed on the OI outcomes, less efforts have been directed towards understanding and exploring the OI antecedents.
The relationship of brand attachment and mobile banking service quality with positive word-of-mouth
Authors: Rajaobelina Lova , Prom Tep Sandrine , Arcand Manon , Ricard Line
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationships between brand attachment, mobile service quality (MSQ), and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) for mobile banking applications (m-banking apps).

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was conducted among 759 Canadian consumers who had used m-banking apps in the previous six months. To test the research hypotheses, a causal model using structural equation modeling was developed.

Findings

The results reveal that, in the m-banking context, brand attachment is associated with three MSQ dimensions – value-added features, security/privacy and interactivity – and positive WOM, with the usability dimension replacing interactivity in this case. Brand attachment is also associated with positive WOM.

Practical implications

To promote WOM, mobile banking managers should foster brand attachment and improve MSQ, mainly in terms of value-added features.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the relationships between brand attachment, mobile service quality and WOM in the context of m-banking apps. It also highlights the prominent role of value-added features available on m-banking apps to persuade customers.
Risk assessment for financial accounting: modeling probability of default
Authors: Filusch Tobias
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce and tests models for point-in-time probability of default (PD) term structures as required by international accounting standards. Corresponding accounting standards prescribe that expected credit losses (ECLs) be recognized for the impairment of financial instruments, for which the probability of default strongly embodies the included default risk. This paper fills the research gap resulting from a lack of models that expand upon existing risk management techniques, link PD term structures of different risk classes and are compliant with accounting standards, e.g. offering the flexibility for business cycle-related variations.

Design/methodology/approach

The author modifies the non-homogeneous continuous-time Markov chain model (NHCTMCM) by Bluhm and Overbeck (2007a, 2007b) and introduces the generalized through-the-cycle model (GTTCM), which generalizes the homogeneous Markov chain approach to a point-in-time model. As part of the overall ECL estimation, an empirical study using Standard and Poor’s (S&P) transition data compares the performance of these models using the mean squared error.

Findings

The models can reflect observed PD term structures associated with different time periods. The modified NHCTMCM performs best at the expense of higher complexity and only its cumulative PD term structures can be transferred to valid ECL-relevant unconditional PD term structures. For direct calibration to these unconditional PD term structures, the GTTCM is only slightly worse. Moreover, it requires only half of the number of parameters that its competitor does. Both models are useful additions to the implementation of accounting regulations.

Research limitations/implications

The tests are only carried out for 15-year samples within a 35-year span of available S&P transition data. Furthermore, a point-in-time forecast of the PD term structure requires a link to the business cycle, which seems difficult to find, but is in principle necessary corresponding to the accounting requirements.

Practical implications

Research findings are useful for practitioners, who apply and develop the ECL models of financial accounting.

Originality/value

The innovative models expand upon the existing methodologies for assessing financial risks, motivated by the practical requirements of new financial accounting standards.
Low rank representation and discriminant analysis-based models for peer-to-peer default risk assessment
Authors: Yuan Gui , Huang Shali , Fu Jing , Jiang Xinwei
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to assess the default risk of borrowers in peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platforms. The authors propose a novel default risk classification model based on data cleaning and feature extraction, which increases risk assessment accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use borrower data from the Lending Club and propose the risk assessment model based on low-rank representation (LRR) and discriminant analysis. Firstly, the authors use three LRR models to clean the high-dimensional borrower data by removing outliers and noise, and then the authors adopt a discriminant analysis algorithm to reduce the dimension of the cleaned data. In the dimension-reduced feature space, machine learning classifiers including the k-nearest neighbour, support vector machine and artificial neural network are used to assess and classify default risks.

Findings

The results reveal significant noise and redundancy in the borrower data. LRR models can effectively clean such data, particularly the two LRR models with local manifold regularisation. In addition, the supervised discriminant analysis model, termed the local Fisher discriminant analysis model, can extract low-dimensional and discriminative features, which further increases the accuracy of the final risk assessment models.

Originality/value

The originality of this study is that it proposes a novel default risk assessment model, based on data cleaning and feature extraction, for P2P online lending platforms. The proposed approach is innovative and efficient in the P2P online lending field.
Performance outcome of entrepreneurial behavior of SMEs in a developing economy: the role of international mindset
Authors: Agyapong Ahmed , Maaledidong Patience Dakora , Mensah Henry Kofi
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Despite the burgeoning stream of research on the relationship between entrepreneurial behavior (EB) and performance, the linkage between entrepreneurial behaviour, international mindset and performance is still underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates how the international mindset moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial behavior and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study's model is tested on a sample of 257 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy – Ghana – using a three-stage least squares estimator.

Findings

Results indicate that an international mindset primarily fosters entrepreneurial behavior in driving performance over and above the unique positive contributions of entrepreneurial behavior and international mindset. Specifically, the study finds that at high levels of international mindset, the positive effects of innovativeness and risk-taking elements of entrepreneurial behavior becomes strengthened. The international mindset's moderating role on the entrepreneurial behavior-performance linkage shows that the international mindset makes SMEs more innovative and open to risk, hence affecting performance positively.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates that, in the SME sector in the emerging economies, the relationship between the individual dimensions of entrepreneurial behavior and performance is contingent upon the role international mindset play in such a relationship. Further, this study explores how international mindset interacts uniquely with the EB (innovativeness, risk-taking and proactiveness) to predict performance.
Corporate sustainability reporting in Japanese multinational enterprises: a threat to local legitimacy or an opportunity lost for corporate sustainability practices?
Authors: Ike Masayoshi , Donovan Jerome Denis , Topple Cheree , Masli Eryadi Kordi
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether Japanese manufacturing multinational enterprises (MNEs) maintain local legitimacy in their host countries through adequate informing of local stakeholders with targeted corporate sustainability (CS) reporting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first identified specific CS activities that were considered important in four Association of Southeast Asian Nations host countries, through semi-structured interviews with 58 participants of 16 Japanese manufacturing MNEs. The degree of establishment of local legitimacy was then measured through the number of references made to these CS activities and other activities specific to the respective host countries in the CS reports of the MNEs across a five-year period.

Findings

The majority of MNEs in the sample were under-reporting items of specific interest to localhost country stakeholders potentially undermining the MNEs’ image. There were found to be differences on the topics published in CS reports compared to those mentioned in the interviews indicating potential issues with regard to internal communication between the subsidiary and headquarters offices.

Originality/value

A novel approach is taken to investigate the degree of local legitimacy established by MNEs through comparing the contents of interviews held at subsidiaries with their respective CS reports. This paper highlights the importance of considering MNE subsidiaries when addressing Target 12.6 of the Sustainable Development Goal 12: responsible consumption and production.
The survival of the fittest in the global markets: multinational corporation challenge, evolution and decline
Authors: Park Byung Il , Lee Jeoung Yul
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this perspective paper is to answer the question of why some multinational corporations (MNCs) do not evolve and fail to avoid retrogression by natural selection in international business (IB) and to introduce eight papers selected for this special issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conceptually discuss the reasons for MNC failure by illustrating key motivations behind foreign direct investment (FDI) undertaken by MNCs based on internalization theory, the OLI paradigm and the OILL (i.e. OLI plus the learning motivation) paradigm. Then, the authors develop an evolutionary perspective to explore the survival of the fittest in the global markets and the natural selection of MNCs.

Findings

The eight papers selected for this special issue expand the authors’ understanding of globalized organizations' challenges, evolution and decline as well as offering a distinct opportunity to reconsider diverse extant theories about MNCs by suggesting an extension that accounts for the rise of various globalized organizations particularly in and from emerging markets.

Originality/value

Despite increased numbers of MNCs, which struggle to survive and are faced with great risk of failure, the authors’ understanding of them still remains in infancy. While scholars have investigated diverse topics related to MNCs, existing studies have developed theories predominantly emphasizing MNC success. Thus, conventional theories in IB such as internalization theory and the OLI paradigm may not be sufficiently applicable to explain the phenomenon of MNC failure (i.e. MNC decline). Based on authors’ discussions, the authors believe this is an appropriate time to refine mainstream IB theories by concurrently considering both evolution and retrogression.
Factors affecting customer satisfaction on online shopping holiday
Authors: Tzeng Shian-Yang , Ertz Myriam , Jo Myung-Soo , Sarigöllü Emine
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Singles' Day (SD) in China is the world's biggest online shopping event while consumer dissatisfaction is also on the rise. Both theory and practice need sharper insights to foster consumer satisfaction, but such knowledge remains sparse in the literature. The current study addresses this void by assessing the effects of online and offline retail service features on consumer satisfaction with SD.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-phase survey was implemented before and after the SD online shopping holiday, with 594 participants in China. Respondents were randomly selected from unique proprietary databases of merchants in the top-five online product categories in China.

Findings

The findings show that information quality, product quality and savings improve, but product return worsens, customer satisfaction with the online shopping holiday. However, good after-sale service can ease the product return process thereby boosting customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a research void by studying effectiveness of retail service features on consumer satisfaction with online shopping festivals.