bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Employee trust dynamics during organizational change: a context of mergers and acquisitions
Authors: Bansal Anjali
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of employees’ element of organizational trust with the processes and practices of the merged organization during post-M & A integration post-merger integration (PMI) phase. Specifically the variables of employees’ perceptions of effectiveness of HR initiatives, communication, and cultural convergence were studied as important determinants of employees’ trust.

Design/methodology/approach

– A mixed method research design was adopted, where quantitative data were collected through questionnaires, and the qualitative support has been gained asking open ended elaborated questions. The analysis was performed on the data obtained from 117 respondents having experienced merger or acquisition in past two to three years. Univariate and bivariate analysis were performed on the data using SPSS.

Findings

– The results of the study indicated the significant positive relationship amongst the variables understudy. It has been found that the poor management of the underlined processes and practices during PMI phase would negatively impact the employees’ phenomenon of trust in the merged organization.

Practical implications

– This research has significant implications for researchers and practitioners. This study contributes to the understanding of the psychological outcomes of M & A survivors as an imperative for strategic human resource management.

Originality/value

– This research is an extension of M & A performance research in terms of psychological variables, and is an initiative to discuss M & A cases from the context of a fast developing economy.
Leadership in Vietnamese state owned enterprises (SOEs)
Authors: Tran Dong Mai , Fallon Wayne , Vickers Margaret H.
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore multiple stakeholders’ perceptions of leadership in Vietnamese state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents findings from semi-structured interviews that were conducted in Vietnam, with seven different stakeholders who had varying understandings of Vietnamese business leadership within the Vietnamese business context. All interviews were transcribed, then translated into English, and thematic analysis of the interview data undertaken.

Findings

– The paper suggests that there was a significant variation in Vietnamese leadership perceptions when compared to Western leadership practices, especially when considering the perceptions of those stakeholders with regard to business leadership in the Vietnamese collectivist cultural context. The themes presented include: SOE decision making and responsibility; SOE promotions and appointments; and SOE performance.

Research limitations/implications

– In the absence of studies of leadership in Vietnamese SOEs, and leadership studies in the Vietnamese culture in general, this research was deliberately exploratory and qualitative. Future mixed methods or quantitative studies are recommended to offer more generalizable conclusions.

Practical implications

– Implications are discussed that point to leadership changes in Vietnamese organizations, and at the individual level, to assist the Vietnamese government, SOEs, and future leaders. Recommendations are also made that are intended to assist foreign business investors and multinational companies operating in Vietnam, now and in the future, to improve their leadership capacity within this context.

Social implications

– Vietnam is a country in social and economic transition. Understanding the leadership practices and perceptions, especially how that might differ from leadership in Western nations, is critical for the success of organizations in Vietnam and, in turn, for the economic and social prosperity of the Vietnamese people.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes perceptions of business leadership in Vietnamese SOEs that have not previously been explored and should be, especially given this critical time of economic and social transition for the Vietnamese nation and economy.
Exploring the relationship between reflexivity and reflective practice through lesson study within initial teacher education
Authors: Lamb Penny , Aldous David
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– A priority for initial teacher education (ITE) is the development of reflection by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in preparation for transition towards qualified teacher status. Whilst much literature exists on the practice of reflection, little attention has been placed on under-standing and developing the processes that inform this practice. Drawing upon the concepts of strong structuration theory (SST), the purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the role Lesson Study can play in developing PSTs’ processes of reflexivity whilst enhancing their reflective practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– Participants were two cohorts of Secondary Physical Education PSTs (n=40), completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course (PGCE). Action research methodology was adopted during school placements, when PST dyads engaged in cycles of Lesson Study. Data obtained through group discussion boards, questionnaires, group and individual interviews, were subjected to inductive analysis, comparing key patterns to locate themes.

Findings

– Drawing upon illustrations collated when exploring the enhancement of their reflective practice, the findings illustrate how PSTs (agents-in-focus) were able to pre-reflectively and critically draw upon embodied dispositions and practices to engage with the external structural elements of their training programme. Such interactions enabled them to demonstrate enhanced forms of active agency and knowledge, developing practices beyond traditional support structures of the training programme.

Originality/value

– In drawing upon these illustrations, this paper explores how the application of SST further enhances understanding of the underlying reflexive processes that shape PST’s interaction with the structures of ITE. Furthermore, it draws attention to the part Lesson Study can play in developing creative, confident and reflective pedagogy by PSTs. In doing so this paper contributes to the growing body of literature that illuminates how Lesson Study may enhance the experiences and professional development of PSTs.
Lesson study in field practice: a time-lagged experiment in initial teacher education in Norway
Authors: Munthe Elaine , Bjuland Raymond , Helgevold Nina
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the background for, the design of, and the implementation of Lesson Study in a teacher education program in Norway. Lesson Study was chosen as an intervention in an attempt to shift pre-service teachers’ focus from themselves to their pupils, attempting to strengthen their possibilities to learn more about the consequences of their instructional decisions for their pupils.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study used a time-lagged experiment where one group of second year pre-service teachers took part in their three-week field practice as usual (business-as-usual-condition), and one group, the following year, took part in Lesson Study cycles during their three-week field practice period. The students were recruited from four subject areas in both conditions: Math, Physical Education, Science, and English.

Findings

– The use of Lesson Study created more collaborative inquiry among the pre-service teachers. At its best, the pre-service teachers formulated research questions, took active part in observations, and used data (pupils’ work, interviews and observations) to inform their choices about how to create improved learning for their pupils.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is a small scale study due to the need to test before upscaling.

Practical implications

– The paper includes a description of how Lesson Study was implemented in a Teacher Education Department, and this can be valuable information for others who are attempting the same.

Originality/value

– This paper fulfills an identified need to learn more about pre-service teachers\ learning and lesson study in teacher education.
Somewhere over the rainbow: sexual orientation and earnings in Germany
Authors: Humpert Stephan
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to observe sexual orientation-based differences in German incomes. Gay men and lesbian women sort themselves into different occupations and sectors than their heterosexual counterparts.

Design/methodology/approach

– Analysis of German Mikrozensus data for 2009. Mincer-style OLS income regerssions.

Findings

– The author finds evidence that cohabiting gay men have an income penalty of 5-6 per cent compared with married men, while lesbian women have a premium of about 9-10 per cent compared with married women. Lesbians in a registered same-sex union have an income gain of about 12-16 per cent, while the effect for men is not statistically significant.

Originality/value

– This is the first paper using German data to analyse income differentials based on sexual orientation (gays and lesbians).
Ethnic concentration and economic outcomes of natives and second-generation immigrants
Authors: Neuman Emma
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between childhood neighbourhood ethnic composition and short- and long-run economic outcomes of second-generation immigrants and natives in Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author uses Swedish longitudinal register data and apply regression analysis methods to investigate the correlation between three ethnic neighbourhood variables(share of immigrants, share of immigrants with the same ethnic background and share of immigrants with other descent) in childhood with short- and long-run economic outcomes (earnings, unemployment, reliance on social assistance and educational attainment).

Findings

– The results show that second-generation immigrants raised in immigrant-dense neighbourhoods have a lower probability to continue to higher education, whereas, their earnings, unemployment and social assistance tendencies are unaffected. On the contrary, natives’ earnings and educational attainment are negatively correlated with, and the probability of social assistance and unemployment are positively associated with a high immigrant concentration. Moreover, the social assistance and unemployment of non-Nordic second-generation immigrants appears to be negatively correlated with the neighbourhood share of co-ethnics and positively correlated with the neighbourhood proportion of other ethnic groups. Overall, the author finds that the results are very similar in the short and long run.

Originality/value

– This paper expands the literature on children and ethnic segregation and in contrast to earlier research in this context, it focuses on second-generation immigrants and their performance in comparison to natives. This study contributes to this research area by investigating a large variety of outcomes, looking at both immigrant, own ethnic group and other ethnic group concentration and including both short- and long-run correlations.
Industry- and occupation-specific human capital: evidence from displaced workers
Authors: Lagoa Sérgio , Suleman Fátima
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of industry and occupation skills on the wages of displaced workers due to firm closure.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using linked employer-employee data on displaced workers, this paper estimates the impact of industry and occupation tenure on post-displacement wage changes correcting for endogeneity with a multinomial logit model.

Findings

– The evidence suggests that occupation has more specific skill requirements than industry. Displaced workers moving both industry and occupation suffer a higher wage decline than those changing only industry or occupation. Furthermore, the transferability of skills varies across occupations and industries; more specifically, intermediate-level occupations are more demanding in specific skills and impose higher wages losses for displaced workers. Finally, the economic crisis reduced the return on firm-specific skills only in some cases.

Practical implications

– The examination of skill specificity/transferability helps firms, workers and policy makers to draw strategies and policies to improve their individual situation and social welfare. The analysis suggest that when experienced workers are displaced and forced to find a job in a different industry, they suffer considerable wage cuts. While displacement imposes costs to workers and society, different choices impact wages differently.

Originality/value

– To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first paper studying the simultaneous impact of industry and occupation tenure on wages using displaced workers due to firm closing. The paper also corrects for the selection of different alternatives after the displacement and uses data from a country characterised by low-job flows and low-worker flows. Finally, the impact of economic crises on return to skills is assessed.
The extent and determinants of precarious employment in Europe
Authors: Kretsos Lefteris , Livanos Ilias
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and determinants of the so-called precarious employment across Europe and using different measures and based on individual’s self-assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data on over two million workers across Europe (EU-15) from the European Union Labour Force Survey are utilised and a Heckman selection approach is adopted.

Findings

– About one tenth of the total European workforce is in employment relationships that could be related to precariousness. The sources of precariousness are mainly involuntary part-time and temporary work. Less prominent as a source of precariousness is job insecurity related to fear of job loss. Vulnerable groups are found to have a higher risk of precariousness while significant country variations indicate that precariousness cannot be examined in isolation of the national context. Finally, signals of previous employment inability, such as lack of past working experience, as well as the state of labour market significantly increase the risk of precarious work.

Originality/value

– The present study utilises a large-scale survey in order to investigate the incidence of precarious employment in a harmonised way and produce results that are comparable across EU-15 countries.
Managing the work-family interface: experience of construction project managers
Authors: Turner Michelle , Mariani Anthony
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-family experience of projects managers working in the construction industry, and identify how they manage their work-family interface.

Design/methodology/approach

– Structured interviews were conducted with nine construction project managers working in the commercial sector, and data were subject to thematic analysis.

Findings

– Role conditions were found to impact on participants’ work-family interface, identified as working hours, accountability, and the stress arising from accountability. Participants identified four key strategies used to manage their work-family interface: managing work-based stress, having a supportive partner, prioritising non-work time for family, and trading off activities. Despite having to limit time with family and trade off social and leisure activities, participants did not report negative work-to-family spillover. All participants shared a passion for their work. Findings can be explained using the heavy worker investment model, which proposes that job devotion is linked to psychological well-being, decreases in work-family conflict (WFC), and work satisfaction.

Originality/value

– Contrary to previous research, findings suggest that construction project managers did not experience inter-role conflict between their work and family domains. It is recommended that further research explore these findings using the heavy work investment (HWI) framework which considers how internal and external predictors shape workers’ behaviour, and whether HWI typologies moderate the experience of WFC.
Project managers’ and change managers’ contribution to success
Authors: Pollack Julien , Algeo Chivonne
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Many projects involve an organisational change component. Project management (PM) and change management (CM) have the potential to jointly contribute to the delivery of organisational changes. However, there is a lack of clarity in the literature about the boundary and relationship between these disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution these disciplines make to a set of project critical success factors, to understand the ways that these disciplines can most effectively work together.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper analyses data collected through an online survey, examining project managers’ and change managers’ perception of each disciplines’ contribution to critical success factors. The survey received 455 responses.

Findings

– This paper identifies the success factors that are most clearly influenced by PM and CM, and areas where practitioners of these disciplines hold significantly different perceptions of their contributions. The results have been used to rank and categorise success factors based on the influence of each discipline. This has been used to develop a risk-based questionnaire to guide the contribution of PM and CM to the mitigation of specific project risks.

Originality/value

– These findings will be of use to practitioners managing organisational change projects, or projects with a significant change component. The findings will be of assistance in determining the ways in which these disciplines should work together to mitigate risks associated with specific critical success factors.
Assessing the impact of risk allocation on sustainable energy innovation (SEI)
Authors: Badi Sulafa M , Pryke Stephen
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The allocation of risk among project participants is an important determinant of innovation success in construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to examine the capacity of risk allocation to encourage the implementation of environmental innovation, particularly sustainable energy innovation (SEI), within the private finance initiative (PFI) project delivery model.

Design/methodology/approach

– A four-case qualitative research methodology is adopted within the context of the UK government’s building schools for the future programme.

Findings

– The findings identify that SEIs are encouraged on the innovative projects by the perceived clarity, appropriateness, and manageability of the risks associated with the project’s energy performance on the PFI contract. The main SEIs were largely developed as strategies to manage long-term energy performance risks allocated to private sector actors and safeguard their long-term commitment to the project. However, the findings indicate that excessive perceived innovation-related risks, particularly capital cost risk, may restrict further SEIs to be implemented.

Research limitations/implications

– The qualitative case study approach adopted may limit the generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

– The study and provides practical guidance to policymakers and project managers in developing strategies to support the implementation of SEI in PFI projects.

Originality/value

– The study attends to a significant gap in knowledge as there is a lack of conceptual and empirical work on managing innovative processes for sustainable energy in PFI projects.
Exploiting big data for customer and retailer benefits
Authors: Aloysius John A , Hoehle Hartmut , Venkatesh Viswanath
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Mobile checkout in the retail store has the promise to be a rich source of big data. It is also a means to increase the rate at which big data flows into an organization as well as the potential to integrate product recommendations and promotions in real time. However, despite efforts by retailers to implement this retail innovation, adoption by customers has been slow. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on interviews and focus groups with leading retailers, technology providers, and service providers, the authors identified several emerging in-store mobile scenarios; and based on customer focus groups, the authors identified potential drivers and inhibitors of use.

Findings

– A first departure from the traditional customer checkout process flow is that a mobile checkout involves two processes: scanning and payment, and that checkout scenarios with respect to each of these processes varied across two dimensions: first, location – whether they were fixed by location or mobile; and second, autonomy – whether they were assisted by store employees or unassisted. The authors found no evidence that individuals found mobile scanning to be either enjoyable or to have utilitarian benefit. The authors also did not find greater privacy concerns with mobile payments scenarios. The authors did, however, in the post hoc analysis find that mobile unassisted scanning was preferred to mobile assisted scanning. The authors also found that mobile unassisted scanning with fixed unassisted checkout was a preferred service mode, while there was evidence that mobile assisted scanning with mobile assisted payment was the least preferred checkout mode. Finally, the authors found that individual differences including computer self-efficacy, personal innovativeness, and technology anxiety were strong predictors of adoption of mobile scanning and payment scenarios.

Originality/value

– The work helps the authors understand the emerging mobile checkout scenarios in the retail environment and customer reactions to these scenarios.
Predicting online product sales via online reviews, sentiments, and promotion strategies
Authors: Chong Alain Yee Loong , Li Boying , Ngai Eric W.T. , Ch'ng Eugene , Lee Filbert
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate if online reviews (e.g. valence and volume), online promotional strategies (e.g. free delivery and discounts) and sentiments from user reviews can help predict product sales.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors designed a big data architecture and deployed Node.js agents for scraping theAmazon.compages using asynchronous input/output calls. The completed web crawling and scraping data sets were then preprocessed for sentimental and neural network analysis. The neural network was employed to examine which variables in the study are important predictors of product sales.

Findings

– This study found that although online reviews, online promotional strategies and online sentiments can all predict product sales, some variables are more important predictors than others. The authors found that the interplay effects of these variables become more important variables than the individual variables themselves. For example, online volume interactions with sentiments and discounts are more important than the individual predictors of discounts, sentiments or online volume.

Originality/value

– This study designed big data architecture, in combination with sentimental and neural network analysis that can facilitate future business research for predicting product sales in an online environment. This study also employed a predictive analytic approach (e.g. neural network) to examine the variables, and this approach is useful for future data analysis in a big data environment where prediction can have more practical implications than significance testing. This study also examined the interplay between online reviews, sentiments and promotional strategies, which up to now have mostly been examined individually in previous studies.
Managing renewal in fragmented business networks
Authors: Havenvid Malena Ingemansson , Håkansson Håkan , Linné Åse
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The authors argue that the construction industry is characterised by a fragmented business context with three main features: the project-based character, the strong focus on price in all parts of the supply chain along with the great importance of suppliers. This fragmentation has been identified as problematic for the industry’s ability to innovate and engage in renewal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this further by focusing on how construction companies manage renewal in a fragmented business context.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use an in-depth case study of a housing project in Sweden to discuss how firms manage renewal in a fragmented type of business environment. The authors identify the challenge of achieving renewal in an individual construction company as an issue of handling intra- and inter-organisational issues in both intra- and inter-project environments.

Findings

– The case study indicates that renewal can be partly handled and managed through long-term business relationships and partly through opening up to new business relationships. Moreover, innovations and learning developed in other projects can be used in the focal project, and due to a repetitive task it is possible for the construction company to use a core network of individuals and organisations to enhance overall renewal among actors.

Research limitations/implications

– The study needs to be supported by further empirical observations. The paper encourages IMP scholars to further investigate projects from an industrial network approach.

Practical implications

– The study shows that the internal resources of firms can be used systematically to create continuity in a multi-project organisation, and that relationships can be used to bridge learning and innovation among actors across projects.

Originality/value

– The paper addresses why firms in fragmented (project-based) businesses might struggle with achieving renewal in a novel way by outlining and investigating four organisational challenges they must handle.
Purchasing and supply management and the role of supplier interfaces
Authors: Araujo Luis , Gadde Lars-Erik , Dubois Anna
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical account of the evolution of the purchasing and supply management (PSM) field from the perspective of resource interfaces between buying firms and their suppliers. This historical account is then used as a platform to develop a framework for understanding of the capabilities required to manage a cluster of resource interfaces.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses an historical survey of practices and ideas in the PSM field to develop a theoretical argument on capabilities to manage resource interfaces between buying firms and their suppliers.

Findings

– The paper proposes a framework linking learning, interactive capacity and interactive capability as they evolve through the interplay between resource interface type, organizing principle and technology strategy.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper contributes a conceptual framework focussing on the capabilities that underpin the management of individual resource interfaces.

Practical implications

– The paper offers the following practical implications: first, the firm needs to consider what type of interface applies in the relationships with its suppliers: second, the firm needs to consider its technological strategy in light of its current supplier interfaces and organizing principles: third, the internal as well as external organizing needs to be aligned with what the firm proposes to achieve from its supplier relationships and be congruent with the interfaces deployed to manage those relationships: fourth, interacting with suppliers is a matter of learning regarding the outcomes of the interaction as well developing interactive capacities and capabilities.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a first attempt to go beyond the characterization of individual resource interfaces in buyer-supplier relationships, to look at the capabilities required to manage multiple resource interfaces and the dynamics underpinning paths of development for those capabilities.
The managerial challenge of business interaction: behind the market façade
Authors: Håkansson Håkan , Ford David
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to address three aspects of the managerial challenge that arises from the process of business interaction: the diversity of interaction; the dynamic effects of interaction; and the integration of interaction into company operations and strategy. The paper develops a typology which characterizes different types of interaction in order to identify the managerial issues they represent.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on the empirical research programme of the IMP Group (impgroup.org) and on a recent large scale research project within that programme.

Findings

– The paper seeks to identify the dynamic effects of each type of interaction on the resources and activities involved in it and address the implications that these effects have for management. Finally, the paper discusses how the challenges and opportunities presented by business interaction can be integrated into the general management of a company.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper is mainly based on detailed empirical observations focusing some special features. Focusing other aspects would give another result.

Practical implications

– Important for all companies having important business relationships.

Originality/value

– Gives a new view of managerial challenges related to the variety in business relationships.
What’s “knowledge management” when resources are unknowable and deals negotiated?
Authors: Waluszewski Alexandra
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the management of the use of knowledge in interfaces stretching across company and organizational borders, including the negotiated monetary dimension.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research approach is the IMP framework on resource interaction (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2002), and the distinction among heterogeneous economic resources and a homogeneous monetary dimension, (Håkansson and Olsen, 2015; Pernaet al., 2015). A case study on use of science based knowledge in business is utilized.

Findings

– The management regime behind the creation of a user setting including a substantial monetary flow is can be characterized as “managing collective entities” (Håkansson, Bakken, Olsen, 2013) and it is argued that the knowledge management regime assumes away the most important process related to use of knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper stress the theoretical need for approaching managment in general and managing use of knowledge in particular as an interactive issue.

Practical implications

– The paper stress the practical need for approaching managment in general and managing use of knowledge in particular as an interactive issue.

Originality/value

– The paper questions the knowledge management regime, which has a strong influence on public policy.
Adoption of sensor based communication for mobile marketing in India
Authors: Abhishek Abhishek , Hemchand Shravan
Published: March 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the applications of sensor-based communication in mobile marketing and how understanding its fast growth is important for marketers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from various examples used by companies in India and abroad to explain the phenomenon of sensor-based communication in mobile marketing.

Findings

Marketers should be aware of the different ways in which sensor-based communication can be used to build and sustain customer engagement.

Practical implications

The different typologies of applications of sensor-based communication, along with examples, will help the marketers to develop similar initiatives for their brands/products.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to illustrate, explain and exhort the usage of sensor-based communication in the Indian context.
Organizational problem solving around digital distraction
Authors: Cho Vincent
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– As digital devices (e.g. laptops, tablets) have become increasingly ubiquitous, so too has students’ potential for digital distraction. It is yet unknown how teachers and schools might effectively handle such challenges. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore educators’ encounters with digital distraction among students, including their work toward addressing the problem.

Design/methodology/approach

– This mixed-methods case study drew upon interview and survey data. Data were analyzed to describe educators’ encounters with and problem solving around digital distraction. This included the use of social network analysis. Specifically, a core-periphery model helped illuminate patterns in collaborative problem solving.

Findings

– Students’ distractions included online entertainment and sending messages. This added to an overall atmosphere of distractedness in classrooms. Rather than collaborate around digital distraction, teachers tended to handle these issues on their own. If teachers did talk to others, these instances were more likely complaints to leaders than peer-to-peer collaborations.

Research limitations/implications

– This study provides a descriptive account of one school and its problem solving around digital distraction. Building upon this study, future research might address the effectiveness of approaches for handling distraction, the influence of network structures on problem solving, and the factors influencing educators’ collaboration around technology.

Originality/value

– Digital distraction is a new challenge in schools and in society. This study lays groundwork for understanding and addressing this issue. It also demonstrates one way to apply core-periphery analyses toward understanding problem solving.
Exploring the relationship between web presence and web usability for universities
Authors: Peker Serhat , Kucukozer-Cavdar Seyma , Cagiltay Kursat
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to statistically explore the relationship between web usability and web presence of the universities. As a case study, five Turkish universities in different rankings which were selected from Webometrics rankings were evaluated and compared.

Design/methodology/approach

– Two different methods were employed for performing usability evaluation of the selected universities: a user testing was used to measure the user performance on the selected tasks and a questionnaire to assess the user satisfaction on the website use. Both usability evaluation methods were applied on the pre-determined tasks for each university by participation of 20 subjects. After the usability evaluation, the universities were ranked in terms of usability results and finally, the relationship between web usability and web presence of universities was statistically investigated by using Kendall’s rank correlation.

Findings

– Several common usability problems which were asserted by related previous studies were identified at the end of usability evaluation of university websites. The usability results also revealed that selected Turkish university websites suffer from numerous usability problems. Further, a strong positive correlation (p
<
0.05) between the usability of the university websites and their web presences were identified. Hence, the participants showed a higher success and satisfaction while performing the tasks on the university websites which have strong web presences.

Practical implications

– The findings from this study have practical implications for universities. Correlation results showed that universities can improve their web usability by giving importance to their web presence volumes. Universities can estimate their web usability levels by investigating their web presence rankings and they can also raise their rankings in Webometrics ranking system by improving the usability of their websites. Moreover, university web developers can design more usable and more user-friendly websites by avoiding usability and design problems identified through usability evaluation.

Originality/value

– Different from the prior research efforts focussing on usability of educational web pages, this study contributes to the growing literature by statistically exploring the relationship between web presence and web usability of universities. This study is also precious from the point of view that it is one of the first attempts to evaluate and compare usability levels of a set of universities’ websites from Turkey.
Learning styles preferences of statistics students
Authors: Yousef Darwish Abdulrahman
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Although there are many studies addressing the learning styles of business students as well as students of other disciplines, there are few studies which address the learning style preferences of statistics students. The purpose of this study is to explore the learning style preferences of statistics students at a United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Furthermore, it investigates whether there are statistically significant differences along the four dimensions of learning styles due to students’ demographic and academic characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

– Questionnaires were distributed to the whole population which included 79 undergraduate statistics students at the UAEU, of which 69 returned the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to present the main characteristics of respondents and the results of the study. Additionally, a chi-square test was used to find out if there were significant differences along the four dimensions of learning style preferences due to students’ demographic and academic characteristics.

Findings

– The results indicate that UAEU undergraduate statistics students have balanced preferences along the four dimensions of learning styles. Results also suggest that there are no statistically significant differences along the four dimensions of learning styles due to students’ demographic and academic characteristics, except in the active-reflective and sensing-intuitive dimensions with respect to high school type (private vs public).

Research limitations/implications

– There are a number of limitations associated with this study. First, the findings of the study are based on data from only one university. Second, the sample was small and limited to undergraduate statistics students and, therefore, it excluded graduate students who might have had different experiences. Third, the results are based on a self-reported questionnaire and this, in turn, might have affected the reliability of the results On the other hand, it has a number of implications for educators and students. Educators will benefit from the results of this study in the sense that they will adopt teaching styles and strategies that match learning styles of the majority of their students. Students themselves will benefit from knowing their own learning style.

Originality/value

– The present study is the first attempt to explore learning styles preference of undergraduate students not only in the UAE setting but also in the developing country setting.
A comparative assessment of the performance of select higher education institutes in India
Authors: Sahney Sangeeta , Thakkar Jitesh
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of select technical higher education institutes of national importance in India. This helps to judge the efficiency and effectiveness of an institute to provide valuable insights on performance measurement and effectiveness not only to the respective institute but also to governmental agencies and policymakers.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper makes a comparative analysis across various educational institutes of repute. This paper looks at the performance of four technical higher education institutes of India. An integrated data envelopment analysis–analytic hierarchy processing (DEA–AHP) approach has been used to compare and evaluate the relative efficiencies in terms of input provided to the institute to produce outputs.

Findings

– The results depict the performances of the four institutes over the period of five years and, in turn, help assess the increase or decrease in the performance of a particular institute in comparative assessment. The paper also helps identify the most efficient institute among the four institutes that have been compared, in terms of academic efficiency, research efficiency, teaching efficiency and consulting efficiency.

Practical implications

– A study like this would furnish an insight into the performance of the select higher educational institutes. The findings can be useful for policymakers, educational planners and administrators in designing a system based on various criteria that can help improve the overall efficiency and decide about benchmarking and funding strategies.

Originality/value

– This paper is an attempt toward defining, conceptualizing and measuring performance effectiveness of institutes of higher education in the Indian context. The effort at the integration of the methodologies (through comparison and DEA–AHP) has helped to provide insights that could not have been obtained through the use of the methods or techniques alone. The paper has helped identify critical strategic issues and parameters which when implemented would be useful for policymakers, educational planners and administrators in designing a system based on various criteria that can help improve the overall efficiency of educational institutes in higher education.
Do pre-entry tests predict competencies required to excel academically in law school?
Authors: Wamala Robert
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Prospective students of law are required to demonstrate competence in certain disciplines to attain admission to law school. The grounding in the disciplines is expected to demonstrate competencies required to excel academically in law school. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of the law school admission test to predicting the competencies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The assessment is based on administrative records of 815 students admitted at Makerere University’s law school on the basis of their performance in the test. Grades obtained in advanced level (A-Level) of secondary education subjects, namely, literature, history, divinity and economics, were adopted as a measure of competence in the disciplines. The outcome of the test was modeled by performance of enrollees in the subject, their characteristics (gender, nationality, entry scheme and academic qualifications at enrollment) and first-year grade point average using a quantile regression.

Findings

– With the exception of enrollees’ characteristics, no significant variations in the outcome of the test were noted in the results between students who did not do the subjects at the A-Level and those who obtained Grade A (p
>
0.05). Similar findings in performance were noted between students who obtained Grade A and those with other grades in the disciplines.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings confirm that admission tests to law school are a measure of mental rather than educational or academic ability. However, the results may not be applied to candidates in countries where a bachelor’s degree is a requirement for admission to law school.

Originality/value

– The study provides an empirical investigation of whether the admission test to law school predicts competencies required to excel academically in the undergraduate program.
Managing the development of e-ID in a public e-service context
Authors: Melin Ulf , Axelsson Karin , Söderström Fredrik
Published: March 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and understand the contemporary management of electronic identification (e-ID) development to: identify and formulate challenges and reflect upon the use of a combination of perspectives. To generate knowledge on this issue, we investigate e-ID development in Sweden from: an e-government systems development lifecycle perspective and a project challenge and critical success factor (CSF) perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative case study covering an analysis of the three years in a larger project focusing e-ID in a public e-service setting. Empirical sources have been face-to-face interviews; official documents and different kind of forums for presentations and discussions in, for example, hearings arranged by authorities; meetings with the coordinating agency, and practitioners’ networks events.

Findings

This study concludes that there are significant challenges involved in managing e-ID development because of its contextual and integrated character. Challenges involve the organization and management of the program and can be traced back to e-government, general project management literature and theory on path dependency. Based on this study, we can question, e.g. governance models, centralization and a narrow focus on the technical artefact. Our study is also an illustration of a possible way to analyse e-ID within an e-government initiative.

Research limitations/implications

The present study shows that an e-ID can be considered as a back office-enabler for launching e-services, but also highlights the need for management of the artefact as an integral part of e-service development because it is intertwined with the use of e-services from a user perspective. This aspect together with the insights related to challenges and success factors including path dependency provides implications for future practice of e-ID management and development in particular and information systems artefact development in general.

Originality/value

This paper addresses challenges related to the development of e-ID in a public e-service setting. Few studies have theoretically combined a lifecycle perspective on challenges and success factors related to e-ID development while also focusing different dimensions of path dependency as an example of a challenging area within a program frame. Studying e-ID as a contemporary phenomenon from a contextual perspective in line with sociomaterial thinking – with a focus on the interplay between technology and people –can also help us to understand and discuss artefact development in general.