bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do mall events affect mall traffic and image? A qualitative study of Indian mall retailers
Authors: Khare Arpita , Awasthi Gaurav , Shukla Rishi P.
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Increased competition among different retail formats has led mall managers to focus on mall promotional activities to attract shoppers to malls. The purpose of this paper is to understand Indian mall retailers views on mall events and its role in improving traffic, sales and mall image.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study used a qualitative to decipher mall retailers’ views regarding mall events. In total, 36 in-depth interviews of mall retailers across 13 metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities (Tier-I and Tier-II) were conducted to develop a comprehensive understanding of mall events organized by Indian mall managers.

Findings

The findings revealed that mall events were categorized under six different types: product launch events, events organized to promote the social cause, commemorate festivals, celebrity nights, events organized by retailers in malls and theme events. There were differences in the nature of events used by malls in bigger and smaller cities across India. The nature of mall events varied according to regional, cultural and lifestyle factors across the country.

Research limitations/implications

Mall managers can use the insights from the study on mall events for segmenting and targeting strategies. The different types of mall events can be used for improving footfall, sales and mall image. The study findings employ a grounded theory approach to understand mall retailers’ views on mall events. Future research can be directed toward understanding mall managers’ and consumers’ opinions about the relevance of mall events in improving footfall and profitability of malls.

Originality/value

Extant research has looked at mall events, their role and efficacy in a consolidated manner. The current study attempts to segregate the events organized by mall management into distinct categories and provide linkages of these categories concerning mall image and traffic.
Advantage of low quality in short life cycle products
Authors: Sun Yang , Cai Helen Huifen , Su Rui , Shen Qianhui
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the configurations of short life cycle, low quality, design and price, influence customer purchase intention in fast fashion and high technology industries in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The traditional thinking is that products with high quality and low price will win more customers. However, the authors can notice that high quality products usually have high cost. Therefore, it is necessary to do more research on how customers can accept low quality products. The authors take fast fashion products and smart phones as empirical studies, collecting data from customer’s online survey. Based on the methodology of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, the authors analyse the relationship between the factors of short life cycle, low quality, design and price and influence customer purchase intention.

Findings

The authors find that price is the most important influencing factor. Low price is a strong competitive factor in the market. As to low quality products, low price can be achieved relatively more easily than with high quality products, resulting from relatively poorer raw material or configurations. Hence the connection between quality and price may give an idea to enterprises that customers will accept low quality products with low price. Moreover, according to the research, different generations are equally affected by the low price condition, regardless of customer gender and household income.

Research limitations/implications

Because the study only focuses on fast fashion and smart phones industries, future work needs to replicate this study with individual data for different industries and with alternative methods to reinforce the confidence in the research. Meanwhile , this research studied mainly the customer perspective, it would be desirable to extend the study to the enterprise perspective and find out the difficulties that limit them in using low quality products to meet market needs. This may revel some cultural differences in purchase behavior among different countries and the discussed industries can be expanded to a larger area.

Practical implications

The study offers a number of managerial implications. With the rapid changes in people’s aesthetic sense and developing high-tech, it is more and more necessary for companies to think about how to win more customers and earn more profits. Low quality products have advantages as they will lower companies’ costs in many dimensions, improving the speed of supply. It helps firms to take low quality products into consideration and think whether they will influence different aspects of the company assistance firms to get a deeper understanding of customer psychology and make better decisions on their products.

Originality/value

The paper fills the gap in the research field by exploring how consumer behavior is affected by different conditions.
Protective effects of blueberry against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in HEPG2 cells
Authors: Wang Huailing , Liu Jie , Liu Xiaoyu , Liu Zhigang
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Blueberry contains bioactive compounds which are beneficial to organisms, such as phenolics and flavonoids. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential protective effects of blueberry extracts (BE) on H2O2-induced HepG2 cells.

Design/methodology/approach

Cell protection was evaluated via the survivals of the cell. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, antioxidant enzyme and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected. Western blot was carried out to analysis protein which was related to the cell apoptosis pathway. Changes in morphology including: cell total apoptosis/necrosis and G0/G1 cycle arresting were also concomitant.

Findings

The levels of ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) reduced after the BE treatment while the contents of superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) increased in HepG2 cells induced by H2O2. Furthermore, mechanistic studies indicated that BE regulated the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis signal-regulating (Bcl-2, Bax). Qu was used as a positive control group. All these results demonstrated that the BE have a potential against oxidative stress in vitro.

Originality/value

Few studies have focused on the bioactivities of blueberry on oxidative stress. Taken together, the results confirm that polyphenol-enriched BE have the ability to protect against oxidative stress in cells. It has a great potential as a functional food ingredient to health benefits. Furthermore, this work showed the value of using simple biological models to screen for compounds that are of interest for food and pharmacological industry.
The moderating influence of national culture on female and male entrepreneurs’ social network size and new venture growth
Authors: Batjargal Bat , Webb Justin W. , Tsui Anne , Arregle Jean-Luc , Hitt Michael A. , Miller Toyah
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to disentangle individual-level gender differences and norm-based gender roles and stereotypes to provide a finer-grained understanding of why female and male entrepreneurs experience different growth returns from their social networks across different national cultures.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a survey of 637 (278 female and 359 male) entrepreneurs across four nations varying on relational culture (importance of social relationships) and gender egalitarianism (importance of gender equality or neutrality in social and economic roles).

Findings

The authors find evidence that male entrepreneurs in high relational cultures benefit the most in terms of growth in revenues from larger network size while women in low relational cultures benefit the least. In cultures with low gender egalitarianism, male entrepreneurs benefit more from their larger social networks than did the female entrepreneurs.

Practical implications

The study presents implications for female entrepreneurs’ behaviors to gain more benefits from their social networks, especially in cultural contexts where relationships are important or where there is equality in gender roles. In these contexts, they may need to develop other strategies and rely less on social networks to grow their ventures.

Social implications

This research suggests that female entrepreneurs still are disadvantaged in some societies. National policy may focus on developing more opportunities and providing more support to women entrepreneurs as a valuable contributor to economic growth of the nations.

Originality/value

The authors disentangle the effects of gender differences, norm-based gender stereotypes and networks on entrepreneurial outcomes.
Explaining the relationship between job insecurity and creativity
Authors: Probst Tahira , Chizh Alina , Hu Sanman , Jiang Lixin , Austin Christopher
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Despite a large body of literature on the negative consequences of job insecurity, one outcome – job creativity – has received relatively scant attention. While initial studies established a relationship between job insecurity and creativity, the explanatory mechanisms for this relationship have yet to be fully explored. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Using threat-rigidity theory and broaden-and-build theory as a conceptual foundation, the authors implemented a two-country temporally lagged research design (the USA (n= 390); China (n= 346)) to test two potential mediating mechanisms – cognitive failures and positive job-related affect – as explanatory variables between quantitative and qualitative forms of job insecurity and self- and other-rated measures of creative performance.

Findings

Results from both countries suggest that job-related affective well-being and employee cognitive failures both explained the relationship between job insecurity and creative performance. However, affective well-being was a better explanatory variable for the relation between job insecurity and self-rated creative performance, whereas cognitive failures better accounted for the relationship between job insecurity and performance on an idea generation task.

Research limitations/implications

The authors discuss the implications of these findings from measurement, theoretical and practical perspectives.

Originality/value

The authors extend prior research on the relationship between job insecurity and creativity by: considering both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, examining their relationships with both self- and other-rated assessments of creative job performance, and testing cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms explaining these relationships.
BIM adoption and implementation: focusing on SMEs
Authors: Vidalakis Christos , Abanda Fonbeyin Henry , Oti Akponanabofa Henry
Published: October 2019

Purpose

To reach its full potential, Building Information Modelling (BIM) should be implemented throughout the supply chain. The purpose of this study is to explore BIM implementation and adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector. The paper addresses two key issues: the slow rate and lack of homogeneity of BIM adoption in the SME sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate BIM uptake and test for correlations between organisational features and BIM aspects. The sample includes data from SMEs based in the South East of England, which are then analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings

The results show that, although SMEs have some understanding of BIM-related concepts, their familiarity with existing BIM software support systems is particularly low. Limited financial capacity is identified as the primary barrier to BIM adoption while knowledge exchange initiatives are the most useful measure in facilitating further implementation. The variations of SMEs in the adoption and implementation of BIM are mostly affected by company size, professional discipline and offered services. The paper also demonstrates that a one-size-fits-all approach to BIM implementation in the AEC sector has limited potential.

Originality/value

The heterogeneity of SMEs in the AEC sector has been considered to a very limited extent. This paper considers the nature, characteristics and core business areas of SMEs as factors affecting BIM adoption and implementation.
This thing of social media! Going business or socialisation? Solving the great dilemma
Authors: Assensoh-Kodua Akwesi
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Social media has become a “thing” not just for its historical purpose of socialisation, but a multi-faceted platform of unpredictable possibilities. With the current high levels of actual usage, business on the platform has assumed different styles and has become one of the competing activities on this platform, creating a dilemma for the future. However, as social beings, we can manage such capricious adventure by means of research, to predict the possible destination before we are taken by surprise. One of such medium of studies is through the philosophies of the continuance intention theories. To this end, the purpose of this paper was to investigated some antecedents of social media that are capable of predicting the direction of this platform to test this theory of continuance intention, and the results from the predictive Smart PLS3 shows that the continuance intention for business on this platform will overtake socialisation to offer the biggest market among the elitist class in the near future, and not China, Nigeria or the NYSE.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses Predictive Smart PLS3 to analyse the continuance intention of social media platforms.

Findings

Predictive Smart PLS3 shows that the continuance intention for business on social media platform will overtake socialisation to offer the biggest market.

Research limitations/implications

The questions asked in this study focussed on buyers and not platform managers. As the continuance intention depends on the latter as well, it would have been better if their opinions were also sought to determine what will make them continue to provide social media.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to do such a study.
Airbnb in India: comparison with hotels, and factors affecting purchase intentions
Authors: Chatterjee Devlina , Dandona Bahul , Mitra Aditya , Giri Manohar
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand Indian tourists’ perceptions of Airbnb compared to other hospitality options, and the factors driving their purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrated model for purchase intention was conceptualized based on the theory of planned behavior and social exchange theory. Constructs such as trust, authenticity, travel innovativeness, price sensitivity and effort expectancy were included based on a survey of the literature. Structural equation models were built using survey data. Respondent ranking of different criteria for Airbnb vs its competitors were aggregated using Borda count method.

Findings

Price is the most important criteria across hospitality choices, including Airbnb, except high-end hotels. Facilities, home-like feeling, trust and friendly service were important for Airbnb. Consumer expectations from Airbnb are similar to homestays, mid-range and budget hotels and different from resorts and high-range hotels. In the theory of planned behavior model, trust in Airbnb and perceived authenticity had large significant positive effects on purchase intention, mediated by attitude. Social norms and effort expectancy had direct positive effects on behavioral intentions. Price sensitivity had a direct small negative effect on purchase intention. Overall, fit of the model was within acceptable parameters.

Originality/value

Despite being an important emerging market, Airbnb in India has not been covered by studies of consumer behavior. This paper fills that research gap. Airbnb’s main competitors are home-stays and mid-range hotels. Building trust, creating authentic experiences and ensuring price competitiveness will drive adoption.
Disaster, reconstruction, and data for social good: the case of wildfires in Portugal
Authors: Freitas Francisco , Mendes José Manuel
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This study aims to discuss the role of data in a disaster and important reconstruction process currently undergoing in Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

The consequences resulting from the wildfires of 2017 and 2018 are the scope of this research paper. The main goal is to understand the role of data, namely, in terms of identifying existing usage, the derived problems and possible improvements. The given topic will be researched targeting secondary sources. The sources include official reports, legal proceedings and relevant newspaper articles.

Findings

In the course of the work, it was possible to identify some important data related pitfalls. Different levels are considered: information prior to extreme events; access to information during the wildfire events; and the problems observed in the aftermath, when tackling reconstruction processes. Civil protection policies in Portugal are failing to integrate population in their socio-technical arrangements.

Research limitations/implications

Important implications can derive by the ongoing investigations and trials enduring in Portuguese justice. This is a process receiving strong media coverage, enacting major revisions to the legal framework and to public policies.

Social implications

Positive social implications may be derived from a stronger focus on transparency and accountability by public authorities. To achieve that data/information must be perceived in a completely different way, aiming at the public good. For the state, data ownership should not constitute the primary goal. Lack of data and transparency has been undermining social relations in the affected areas.

Originality/value

The literature on forest fires is vast, although there are little concerns on the role of data to improve policymaking and to produce positive social impacts, especially in the aftermath of catastrophes. The Portuguese example underlines how information sharing and transparency are important to safeguard social bonds.
Does institutional logic matter in microfinance delivery? An empirical study of microfinance clients
Authors: Atiase Victor Yawo , Mahmood Samia , Wang Yong
Published: October 2019

Purpose

From an institutional theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined impact of financial capital (microcredit) and human capital development (entrepreneurship training) delivered by financial non-governmental organisations (FNGOs) on the performance of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a multiple linear regression analysis, the study used primary data collected from 506 Ghanaian MSEs. Microcredit was measured using four main constructs, namely, loan cost, loan amount, the flexibility of loan repayment and loan accessibility. Entrepreneurship training was measured using four main constructs, namely, training content, training efficiency, training frequency and training accessibility. MSE performance was also measured using three main indicators, namely, sales, employment and profitability growth. The study controlled for business age, industry category, manager’s educational level and gender.

Findings

The results of this study show that the combined delivery of financial and human capital development by FNGOs has a significant impact on MSE performance. The social welfare logic adopted by FNGOs seems to be legitimate to the needs and growth of MSEs in Ghana. However, the cost of microcredit remains a drawback, constraining the performance of MSEs in Ghana.

Research limitations/implications

This study was carried out in the Volta Region, which is one of the ten regions of Ghana. Even though the sample size suffices, the findings from this study could not be generalised to the whole of Ghana. Also, this study is a quantitative study and could benefit from a triangulated method where the qualitative inputs could offer insights into the findings in this study.

Originality/value

Theoretically, this study contributes to the understanding of institutions and the type of impact they have on the growth of MSEs. Practically, the provision of a conducive environment and access to financial capital is crucial to the growth of MSEs. Also, the adoption of the social welfare logic in microfinance delivery could be one of the major steps in promoting the performance of MSEs in Ghana.
Toward a conceptualization of humanitarian service providers
Authors: Vega Diego , Roussat Christine
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Service development and outsourcing are growing trends in humanitarian logistics (HL). Humanitarian organizations (HOs) have developed specialized units to perform logistics activities on behalf of other aid organizations, as a commercial logistics service provider (LSP) would do. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of HOs acting as LSPs and the differences with their commercial counterparts.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a two-level content analysis of 149 annual reports from 50 local and international HOs, performed with the help of qualitative data analysis software. First, a manifest content analysis identified the number of occurrences of logistics-related words and later, a latent content analysis studies the use in context of such words to characterize the nature of HOs as LSPs.

Findings

Evidence shows that some international HOs – in some cases through specialized logistics units – perform the same activities as commercial LSPs, providing similar services. However, due to the characteristics of the humanitarian context, HOs acting as LSPs can offer a wider range of value-added and dedicated services to clients (other HOs) than commercial LSPs.

Research limitations/implications

Exploring the activities performed by HOs on behalf of other aid organizations and characterizing them as service providers constitutes a first attempt to grasp the unique features of these particular humanitarian LSPs. The results open the discussion about the services HOs offer, thus contributing to theory development in HL.

Practical implications

The identification of HOs acting as LSPs introduces a new actor to the humanitarian network, which the authors refer to as humanitarian service provider (HSP). This supposes two main managerial implications. First, the results support the idea of seeing servitization as a competitive difference, having a substantial impact on the way HOs build their strategies and achieve competitive advantage. Second, HSPs can push their commercial equivalents to identify new activities or services to offer and maintain their competitive advantage with regard to the newcomers.

Originality/value

This paper furthers the discussion on the concept of HSPs and demonstrates its uniqueness, thus contributing to the ever-growing body of knowledge of HL research.
Managed earnings, prior cost of capital, and firm location
Authors: Ujah Nacasius Ujah , Okafor Collins E.
Published: October 2019

Purpose

A seemingly certain commonality in the extant literature is that firms that engage in the practice of managing earnings do so to massage their performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the pecuniary effect of the prior cost of capital and a firm’s location on the propensity for firms to manage earnings.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses longitudinal data for US firms from COMPUSTAT and Center for Research in Security Prices from 1980 to 2010 for an average of 1,627 firms. The authors apply several regression methods – namely: least squares regressions, quantile, interaction-terms, seemingly unrelated and endogeneity test – and come to similar conclusions.

Findings

The authors find that managed earnings behavior varies depending on the prior cost of capital. Managers positively exacerbate earnings when the firms’ prior cost of debt is high. Managers inverse its exacerbation of earnings when the firms’ prior cost of equity is high. This effect remains the same in all regression techniques applied in this paper.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature primarily in three areas. First, by considering the effect of a firm’s location jointly on a firm’s prior cost of capital, the authors show that a firm’s environment amplifies the managers’ discretionary actions. Second, by showing that the prior cost of capital which a firm pursues can inundate the managers to pursue and exacerbate earnings. Finally, the evidence suggests that adjustment in previous years for debt obligated firms and that location affects managed earnings behavior.
Toward a Digitally Dominant Paradigm for twenty-first century supply chain scholarship
Authors: Stank Theodore , Esper Terry , Goldsby Thomas J. , Zinn Walter , Autry Chad
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The digital advances in modern industry are accelerating changes in the broad social, economic, political and business environments within which supply chain management (SCM) is practiced. Given this extraordinary contextual upheaval, the conduct of research to identify, define, understand and explain how the digital revolution will impact key SCM concepts is imperative. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a theoretically grounded Digitally Dominant Paradigm (DDP) framework that demonstrates how digital concepts and insights can be infused into existing elements of best-practice SCM, in order to help guide future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Middle-range theorizing is proposed as a means to explore the ways in which researchers can explain supply chain phenomena (i.e. build theory) in the age of digitalization.

Findings

An example of how a DDP framework can be applied to a well-entrenched logistics/supply chain concept is provided, and the authors conclude by identifying exemplary research propositions for future exploration.

Originality/value

The broad goal of the paper is to spark forward-looking supply chain scholarship based upon development of a DDP of SCM.
Automotive recall risk: impact of buyer‒supplier relationship on supply chain social sustainability
Authors: Nassar Shereen , Kandil Tarek , Er Kara Merve , Ghadge Abhijeet
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the automotive product recall risk in terms of social sustainability performance and to evaluate the role of buyer‒supplier relationships in improving social sustainability during product recall crises.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-methodology approach is used to empirically analyse the interrelationship between the proposed constructs and enablers of the buyer‒supplier relationship. Structural equation modelling and interpretive structural modelling are followed to analyse the data gathered thorough a questionnaire survey of 204 executives and interviews with 15 managers from the automotive industry.

Findings

The results of the study provide evidence regarding the impact of the responsible buyer‒supplier relationship on customer recall concerns and the social sustainability performance of supply chains (SCs). This study also leads to the development of a conceptual model, providing a relationship between the three key concepts used in this study.

Research limitations/implications

Following social sustainability principles, this study addresses the importance of developing strong, responsible relational ties with suppliers to reduce vehicle recalls or successfully recover from a product recall crisis.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by providing theoretical and empirical insights for developing socially responsible SCs and confirming the role of the buyer‒supplier governance mechanism during product recalls in the context of the automotive industry.
Sustainability in African higher education institutions (HEIs)
Authors: Ulmer Nico , Wydra Kerstin
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Research on sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs) is unequally distributed globally. The existing publications on sustainability in HEIs have largely focussed on the Global North. Meanwhile, little is known about the state of sustainability in HEIs located in the Global South, and within African HEIs in particular. This study aims to fill this gap and investigates the status of sustainability activities in participating African HEIs.

Design/methodology/approach

A Delphi study involving 32 experts from 16 African countries and a total of 29 HEIs was conducted between December 2017 and May 2018. Experts were asked to share their insights on sustainability and Africanisation through an online questionnaire in two rounds.

Findings

Although 30 of the 32 participants agreed with the provided definitions of sustainability and sustainable development (two participants did not answer), 11 of the participants commented that important issues such as governance and culture were missing. This trend indicates that the sustainability discussion is still led from a western vantage point. Nevertheless, Africanisation plays a role in around two-thirds of participating HEIs’ sustainability activities, with the language factor representing the most pressing issue.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the current state of sustainability activities and Africanisation of participating African HEIs, and the importance of language and culture in this process.

Originality/value

This study is one of few works that have investigated the state of sustainability activities in African HEIs. Furthermore, it adopts a positive stance on sustainability in Africa, rather than focussing on negative circumstances.
What’s love got to do with it? Place brand love and viral videos
Authors: Strandberg Carola , Styvén Maria Ek
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of brand love in place brand communication by incorporating potential antecedents and behavioral outcomes of place brand love in a social media setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from 281 residents and visitors of a place through an online survey focusing on a place brand video. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the research model.

Findings

Results show that place brand love has a strong direct relationship with positive word of mouth (WOM), and an indirect effect on intention to share the place brand message. Self-expressiveness of the place brand message also seems to influence place brand love as well as intention to share the message.

Research limitations/implications

The role of self-related concepts and brand love to a place has theoretical implications for research in place branding and electronic word of mouth. The study has limitations to its generalizability in terms of cultural aspects and sample representativeness.

Practical implications

Place marketers need to successfully reflect the self-concept of key stakeholders in communication messages in order to increase the probability that recipients will engage in positive WOM and share the message.

Originality/value

Research on place brand love is scarce and previous studies have focused solely on brand love in connection to tourists. The main contribution of the current study is the exploration of the role of brand love in connection to residents, who are vital co-creators of the place brand.
Understanding public opinion in different disaster stages: a case study of Hurricane Irma
Authors: Xu Zhan , Lachlan Kenneth , Ellis Lauren , Rainear Adam Michael
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Social media, such as Twitter, has become the first and the most frequent place to visit in order to gain information and establish situational awareness in emergencies and disasters. The purpose of this paper is to examine public opinion on Twitter in different disaster stages using the case of Hurricane Irma.

Design/methodology/approach

More than 3.5m tweets capturing the entire disaster lifecycle were collected and analyzed. Topic modeling was used to generate topics at each disaster stage based on Fink’s (1986) four-stage model of crisis and disaster: prodromal, acute, chronic and termination stages.

Findings

The results revealed that media reliance varied across different stages. All topics in the prodromal stage were associated with the early warning and real-time news. The topic of lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey was the most popular at this stage. The acute stage recorded the highest number of daily tweets. The most popular topic was the safety of people and animals. In the chronic stage too, the safety of people and animals remained a major concern. Heroic and anti-social behaviors also received substantial attention. In the termination stage, climate change was the most frequently discussed topic. Politics-related discussions were heated.

Originality/value

The results extended and enhanced the four-stage model of crisis and disaster. These findings can help government agencies and crisis managers address audience needs effectively at various crisis stages in a timely manner.
The impact of positive valence and negative valence on social commerce purchase intention
Authors: Hajli Nick
Published: October 2019

Purpose

New research emphasizes the importance of social communications in e-commerce purchase decision-making processes but there are many technical and social challenges such as multi-faceted trust concerns. How consumers view and value referent’s online testimonials, ratings, rants and raves, and product usage experiences remain an important factor that needs to be better understood. Social commerce as a relatively new stream in e-commerce yet is growing fast and gaining the attention of scholars and practitioners, especially due to recent revenue developments. Consistent with e-commerce websites that do not enable consumer feedback, trust is a challenging matter for consumers to consider when they visit social commerce websites. Researching trust models and influences is increasingly important especially with the proliferation of online word of mouth (WOM) strongly effecting many consumers at many different phases of social commerce purchase decision making and transacting. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the effects and importance of institution-based trust and WOM within a model of consumer behaviour on social commerce websites. This research examines how trust and consumer feedback may affect consumers’ purchase intentions. This study collects data from the little-understood market of urban Iran and develops a research model to examine consumers’ purchase intentions on social commerce websites. A robust data set from urban Iran (n=512) is analyzed using partial least squares regression to analyze the proposed model.

Findings

The results of the analysis show that institution-based trust influences social media communication, leading to elevated purchase intention on social commerce websites. This research adds to the prior literature that espouses on the importance of consumers developing strong beliefs of vendor trust in social commerce platforms.

Originality/value

Explaining how consumer purchase decision making is effected by using institution-based trust and electronic WOM in a little understood Middle Eastern context an important contribution of this research. Suggestions on practical and theoretical developments of this research in the sharing commerce research stream conclude this paper.
Audit assurance and tax enforcement
Authors: Zhang Dengjun
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of audit assurance on tax enforcement, which is represented by whether firms have been visited by tax officials and, if so, the total number of inspections per fiscal year. The efficiency of tax administration is further examined by whether it becomes a binding constraint to a firm’s operations.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consists of 18,746 firm-year observations from 28 transition and market-based economies in Central-Eastern Europe. The binary logit model, the Poisson model and the ordinal logit model are applied to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical results show that, while audit assurance does not reduce the probability of being visited by tax officials (regardless of visit times) for the two country groups, firms with audited financial reports meet tax officials less often in market-based economies but not in transition economies. Furthermore, only in market-based economies does audit assurance reduce the probability that tax administration becomes a severe obstacle to firms’ operations.

Originality/value

This study addresses the relationship between tax administration and audit assurance in market-based and transition countries. One implication of the empirical findings is that audit assurance would add benefits to business environments when countries evolve from transition to market-based economies.
Musculoskeletal disorders among rice farmers in Phimai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand
Authors: Sombatsawat Ekarat , Luangwilai Titaporn , Ong-artborirak Parichat , Siriwong Wattasit
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and determine factors influencing MSDs among rice farmers.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 156 rice farmers from 14 villages in Tarnlalord sub-district, Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, from February 2017 to March 2017. Face-to-face interviews, including demographics, work characteristics and musculoskeletal pain, were conducted using a modified standardized Nordic questionnaire.

Findings

The results revealed that both 78 males and 78 females participated in the study to which the average of age and body mass index (BMI) was 45.5±11.4 years and 24.9±4.0 kg/m2, respectively. All rice farmers reported MSDs in at least one body region during the six months preceding the interview. The highest prevalence of MSDs showed 86.5 percent in the lower back area, followed by 85.9 percent in the neck, and 80.7 percent in the shoulders. The analysis of binary logistic regression and Spearman’s rank correlation showed that factors such as gender, age, BMI, work experience and farm size influence MSDs’ occurrence, and pain severity in one or more body regions (p < 0.05).

Originality/value

Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant health problem in rice farmers. The study indicated that appropriate agricultural practices such as working posture, equipment size selection and carrying loads should be recommended to prevent MSDs. Thus, the occupational health and safety services in agricultural workers are needed.
Analysis of key barriers in retirement planning
Authors: Kumar Santosh , Shukla Gargi Pant , Sharma Roopali
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to holistically study barriers in the path of implementation of retirement planning, as the need is increasing with decrease in mortality. The proper retirement planning can be one of the most important tools to control financial expenses on healthcare and welfare on old age population in government budgets.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a blend of theoretical framework and practical application and uses interpretive structural modeling (ISM) analysis to draw linkage and impact of identified barriers in the path of achievement of goals of retirement planning. The study has used three different research phases: identification of barriers from the literature, interviews with experts of industry at second stage and designing an ISM impact matrix cross-reference multiplication model. The identification phase led to the selection of 15 factors from past literature and by suggestion from industrial experts.

Findings

This study seeks to identify which barrier is acting as the most dominant one for the mass adoption of retirement planning and this result is helpful for policymakers to remove the dominant barrier. The result of this analysis can make retirement planning easy by elimination of highlighted barriers on the basis of their importance in the path of achievement of retirement goals. In the ISM level diagram, barriers such as marital status, number of financial dependents at the bottom, gender, income level, educational level, financial literacy, financial dependency, policy regulation, terms and conditions, goal clarity and psychological and cultural factors are on the top. Barrier of macroeconomic and bureaucratic impediments are also very important factors for achievement of retirement goal of an individual, but they cannot be controlled directly by the associated members of industry.

Originality/value

The concern for providing sufficient retirement resources is growing with the increase in life expectancy for human beings. Such requirement has attracted views from not only academicians but also policymakers. This paper is one of the preliminary attempts to identify barriers in implementation of retirement planning and rank them according to their importance.
King Frederick the Great – Anti-Machiavellian and Servant Leader?
Authors: Langhof Jan G. , Güldenberg Stefan
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This study aims to include two major objectives. Firstly, Frederick’s leadership is explored and characterized. Secondly, it is examined as to why a leader may (or may not) adopt servant leadership behavior in the case of Frederick II, King of Prussia.

Design/methodology/approach

The applied methodology is a historical examination of Frederick II’s leadership, an eighteenth-century’s monarch who has the reputation of being the “first servant of the state.” The analysis is conducted from the perspective of modern servant leadership research.

Findings

This study shows Frederick remains a rather non-transparent person of contradictions. The authors identified multiple reasons which explain why a leader may adopt servant leadership. Frederick’s motives to adopt a certain leadership behavior appear timeless and, thus, he most likely shares the same antecedents with today’s top executives.

Research limitations/implications

The authors identified various antecedents of individual servant leadership dimensions, an under-research area to date.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to look at Frederick's leadership style through the lens of modern servant leadership.
A systematic mapping study on risk management in the export development of high-tech products
Authors: Tanabandeh Maryam , Salajegheh Sanjar , Pourkiani Masoud
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to characterize and identify the existing research on risk management in the export development of high-tech products.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic mapping study to identify and analyze related literature. The authors identified 96 primary studies, dated from 2000 to 2018 and classified them with respect to research focus, types of research and contribution.

Findings

A total of 32 studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on risk management in the export development of high-tech products. “Currency risk” with 13 articles is the dominant research focus. Regarding the research type, “Solution proposal” is the most frequently used research type. “Case study”, “Regression analysis” and “Survey”, respectively, were the most used research methods. However, “FANNIS”, “FAHP” and “Discussion paper” were used less often. “Solution proposal” was the most common research type between 2000 and 2018. Further, the number of publications has declined between 2010 and 2012.

Originality/value

This mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on risk management research in the export development of high-tech products. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high-quality studies.
The interests of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) actor in using mobile commerce in effort to expand business network
Authors: Nayati Utami Hamidah , Siti Astuti Endang , Maulani Ramadhan Hanifa , Trialih Rahmat , Alief Aprilian Yudha
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to know the interest of leading small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Y generation in Surabaya City using mobile commerce, identify the effort that has been done by the leading SMEs actors of Y generation in Surabaya City to expand its business network by using mobile commerce, and analyze the success rate of the use of mobile commerce to expand the business network of leading SMEs of Y generation in Surabaya City.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is designed using qualitative method. The research is directed more toward a research with phenomenological approach because the research also gives the description related to the phenomena in the field to the actor of SMEs and Disperdagin of Surabaya City. The researcher picks Surabaya City as the location by considering the following: the number of SMEs in the Surabaya city is greater than any other cities in East Java considering that Surabaya is the capital of East Java. The number of SMEs is 37,906 units; it means that Surabaya is a city with high economic activity and this place is also the largest trading city after Jakarta. Based on the number of SMEs mentioned above, in this research, only leading SMEs are taken amounted to 161 leading SMEs in the Surabaya City. Information or technological exchange and development are faster compared to other cities because most of the community living in this city uses information technology in running their business.

Findings

SME actors in Surabaya city have high interest in using m-commerce. In expanding the network, the SME actors use online media. The SME actors in Surabaya have successfully expanded the business network through online marketing by using m-commerce to overseas including Germany, France, South Korea and the UK. Effective model is needed for the policy in Surabaya city is Disperdagin has its own website to overshadow all SMEs in Surabaya City, and identify the role of Disperdagin to SME or vice versa, and clustering SMEs in Surabaya such as cluster of handicraft and Food and Beverage (MAMIN). Factors that are the advantages of using m-commerce are wider business network; increasing sales; adding resellers and buyers; smooth business transaction; development of product innovation, process and marketing; the facilities provided by the government; and easy to use m-commerce application.

Originality/value

This is one of few papers that study the interest of SMEs actor in using mobile commerce in effort to expand business network. The use of m-commerce will grow the business capability of SMEs, thus increasing the role of SMEs as the counterweight to the structure of the national economy. Therefore, the government policy related to the use of e-commerce and m-commerce is very important to be socialized to business actors, especially the SMEs.