bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of subjective norms, eWOM and perceived brand credibility on brand equity: application to the higher education sector
Authors: Perera Charitha Harshani , Nayak Rajkishore , Nguyen Long Thang Van 
Published: August 2020

PurposeThe growing competitive environment in which higher education institutes are immersed has caused them to strengthen their competitive position of a brand and its equity in emerging countries. However, there are several contradictions between the empirically approved determinants and the dimensions of brand equity in higher education. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structural relationship between subjective norms, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), perceived brand credibility and brand equity, taking cross-culturally comparisons between Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachA survey was used to collect data from a sample of 800 undergraduates of private higher education institutions in Sri Lanka and Vietnam in 2019. These data were gathered using purposive sampling and analyzed using a structural equation model. A total of 768 questionnaires were considered valid. In testing the hypothesis and structure among the variables, structural equation modelling was used to determine the relationship between subjective norms, eWOM, perceived brand credibility and brand equity for the higher education institutes in emerging countries.FindingsFor the conceptual framework, the author found that this structural equation model complies with the empirical data. The structural equation model shows that subjective norms, eWOM and perceived brand credibility were significantly related to brand equity. Perceived brand credibility was found to be the mediating variable. Further, the location was found to moderate the relationship between perceived brand credibility and brand equity, highlighting that Vietnamese students are more relying on perceived brand credibility in creating brand equity than their Sri Lankan counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted at private higher education institutes in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Future research could benefit from perceptions of undergraduates in public higher education institutes. This study discusses the implications of developing branding strategies for higher education institutions.Originality/valueThe current research contributes to the services marketing and branding literature in the higher education context. The paper presents the crucial elements in building brand equity for higher education institutes to fill the existing gaps in higher education branding literature. The findings of the current study provide strategies to improve the higher education sector.
Personality and resilience characteristics of preschool principals: an iterative study
Authors: Lazaridou Angeliki 
Published: August 2020

PurposeThis article reports findings from an investigation of the personality traits and resilience of a sample of preschool principals in Greece. It parallels an earlier investigation of primary school principals and compares the findings. As before, the investigation was designed to search for relationships between respondents’ personality characteristics and resilience strengths, and also for differences associated with sex, age, and years of service in the principalship. Once again, the “Big-Five Inventory” and the “Leadership Resilience Profile” were used. These outcomes, together with the demographics of the sample, suggested that Greek preschool principals may have unique dispositions, and therefore, may have unique professional-development needs and leadership preferences.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey was used to gather the data from a sample of 100 pre school teachers. The “Big Five Inventory” and the “Leadership Resilience Profile” were the instruments used.FindingsIt was found that the sample’s personality characteristics and resilience strengths differed somewhat from norms reported in the literature. Furthermore, the findings concerning relationships between resilience and personality did not align clearly with other researchers’ findings.Originality/valueResilience and personality characteristics as determinants of successful school leadership.
Organizational flexibility and project portfolio performance: the roles of innovation, absorptive capacity and environmental dynamism
Authors: Saeed Muhammad Aamir , Jiao Yuanyuan , Zahid Muhammad Mohsin , Tabassum Humaira , Nauman Shazia 
Published: August 2020

PurposeThe aim of the current study is to empirically assess the effects of organizational flexibility on project portfolio (PP) performance, with the mediating role of innovation and moderating effects of environmental dynamism (ED) and absorptive capability (AC).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 173 manufacturing firms and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of a partial least squares (PLS) approach.FindingsResults show that innovation partially mediates the relationship between organizational flexibility and PP performance. Furthermore, the moderating effect of ED between organizational flexibility and innovation was analyzed. Additionally, AC also observed as a moderator between innovation and PP performance.Originality/valueBased on the resource-based view, this study contributes to the literature by addressing the roles of innovation, ED and AC in the relationship between organizational flexibility and PP performance. Implications for managers also discussed in the end; for example, to be more competitive, they should incorporate flexibility into the firm to encourage innovation. It also emphasizes to select new innovative opportunities that correspondingly have effects on the PP performance.
Who is attracted and why? How agile project management influences employee's attraction and commitment
Authors: Koch Jan , Schermuly Carsten C. 
Published: August 2020

PurposeIn times of market volatility and uncertainty, finding effective strategies to attract and retain individuals continues to be a challenge for organizations. Based on the psychological empowerment process (Spreitzer, 1996), this paper strives to examine if the application of agile project management could serve as such a strategy.Design/methodology/approachIn two independent studies, the authors used an experiment with students as potential applicants (N = 121) and a field study with employees (N = 229) to test the predictive quality of agile project management for attracting individuals toward the organization.FindingsUsing structural equation modeling, the authors identified an indirect relationship between agile project management and attraction toward the organization via psychological empowerment. The authors found this relationship for potential applicants as well as employees. Furthermore, individuals high in sensation seeking are found to be more attracted toward organizations that apply agile project management than individuals low in sensation seeking.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings contribute to the empowerment literature by establishing agile project management as a work structure that fosters feelings of psychological empowerment.Practical implicationsTaken together, these results suggest that agile project management can attract individuals who seek novel, complex and intense sensations. Where applicable, organizations may highlight their practice of agile project management methodologies as part of their employer brand to attract future specialists for agile projects.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to integrate the research streams on agile project management and attraction toward the organization using quantitative data.
The job resources-engagement relationship: the role of location
Authors: Halinski Michael , Harrison Jennifer A. 
Published: August 2020

PurposeThis study investigates the moderating role of employee office location in the relationship between support-related job resources (i.e. organizational support for development, supervisor support) and work engagement among public sector employees.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire was completed by 2,206 digital services branch of public service employees in Canada. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test office location as a moderator of job resources and work engagement.FindingsThe results indicate that office location moderates the relationship between organizational support for development and work engagement, such that this relationship is stronger for head office employees. Conversely, results show office location moderates the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement, such that this relationship is stronger for regional office employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire was self-report in nature and from a single department. Future research should consider multiple sources of reporting and additional departments.Practical implicationsThe current study suggests that to increase work engagement, public sector organizations need to offer head office employees more organizational support for development and regional employees more supervisor support.Originality/valueThe literature on public sector work engagement tends to study job resources as having universal effects on work engagement regardless of employees' place of work. This study suggests that certain resources matter more depending on office location.
Power and inaction: why organizations fail to address workplace bullying
Authors: Hodgins Margaret , MacCurtain Sarah , Mannix-McNamara Patricia 
Published: August 2020

PurposeBullying affects at least one-third of the workers through either direct exposure or witnessing, both of which lead to compromised health, and as a result, reduced organizational effectiveness or productivity. However, there is very little evidence that organisations provide effective protection from bullying, and in fact, the converse appears to the case. The purpose of this paper to explore the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of the problem. Such an approach moves away from the specific practice of identifying “bullying” that typically engages targets and perpetrators in a dance that is really just around the edges (Sullivan, 2008) of a larger problem; a culture that permits the abuse of power and ill-treatment of workers, in both practices and through organisational politics.Design/methodology/approachThis paper elucidates key problems with organisational response as identified in the literature and critically examines weak organisational response to workplace bullying using the power theory, arguing that while overt approaches to addressing bullying appear to be underpinned by a simplistic, functionalist understanding of power, practices on the ground are better explained by more sophisticated “second-dimension” theorists.FindingsThere is a need for organisations to move beyond the current individualistic understanding of bullying towards a more nuanced understanding of how anti-bullying policies and procedures are themselves an exercise in institutional power protecting and reinforcing dominant power structures.Research limitations/implicationsThe literature from which this paper is drawn is limited to studies published in English.Practical implicationsThe authors advocate a realistic assessment of the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of workplace bullying, as a way forward to plan appropriate intervention.Social implicationsWorkplace bullying is problematic for organisations at several levels, and therefore for society.Originality/valueThat power is relevant to workplace bullying has been apparent since the work of Brodsky in 1976 and Einarsen's early work, this paper builds on a the more nuanced work of McKay (2014), D'Cruz and Noronha (2009), Liefooghe and MacDavey's (2010) and Hutchinson et al. (2010), exploring the organisational response to the raising of bullying issues by individual employees as an exercise of power.
Profitability and choice of marketing outlets: evidence from Ghana's tomato production
Authors: Adams Faizal , Wongnaa Camillus Abawiera , Coleman Edwin 
Published: August 2020

PurposeThe study analyzed the profitability of tomato farmers and determinants of farmers' choice of marketing outlets (wholesaler or retailer) in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 100 tomato farmers in Ghana. Analytical tools which include descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis (GM), profitability ratios and binary logit model were employed.FindingsProfitability analysis indicates that farmers who supply to wholesalers have gross margin of Gh¢7.86 (US$1.67) per 25 kg crate, while farmers who supply to retailers recorded a major loss of Gh¢5.36 (US$1.14) per 25 kg crate. The result suggests that farmers selling to wholesalers are better off than farmers supplying to retailers. The binary logit regression analysis reveals a positive relationship between farmers' choice of marketing outlet (wholesaling) and age of respondents, quantity of tomato sold and cost of labor for production. A negative relationship also existed between farmers' choice of marketing outlet and weighted average selling price and household size.Research limitations/implicationsThe results call for policy efforts to provide an enabling environment for more extension education and establishment of farmer associations to make marketing information for price development among farmers available.Originality/valueThe choice of marketing outlet greatly influences profitability of tomato production. This study examines the performance of the various tomato marketing outlets in Ghana.
Self-advocacy for first-year students in interior architecture design studios
Authors: Rauf Hozan Latif , Gunce Kagan , Ozersay Munevver Ozgur 
Published: August 2020

Purpose
The study aims to identify the issues that restrict students to show their real performance in the design due to lacking of self-advocacy skills and suggesting a new concept to overcome these difficulties.

Design/methodology/approach
The current literature was surveyed to form a comprehensive understanding of the issue. A case study has been taken for three years and two groups of students were taken. Results achieved and discussed.

Findings
The result of the study showed that those students who undergo an environment equipped with knowledge about self-advocacy can perform better and the success level is relatively higher amongst these students.

Originality/value
This study contributes to the current literature an original knowledge that has not been previously written about (empowering self-advocacy amongst students of interior architecture). The profession of interior architecture is a relatively new profession and faces challenges in fixing its feet on the ground that is why the subject can add a real value to it to alleviate the challenge.
Intradialytic isometric handgrip exercise does not cause hemodynamic instability: A randomized, cross‐over, pilot study
Authors: Ribeiro Heitor S. , Cunha Vinícius A. , Baiao Victor M. , Almeida Lucas S. , Dourado Gustavo Í. , Carvalho Helton L. , Duarte Marvery P. , Inda‐Filho Antônio , Viana João L. , Nóbrega Otávio T. , Ferreira Aparecido P. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractHemodialysis (HD) patients experience hemodynamic instability and intradialytic exercise seems to attenuate it. This study aimed to verify the acute hemodynamic response to different intradialytic handgrip exercise intensities in HD patients. In a randomized, cross‐over, experimental pilot study, eight patients completed two experimental sessions and one control in random order: (a) regular HD; (b) low‐intensity isometric handgrip exercise; and (c) moderate‐intensity isometric handgrip exercise. BP and heart rate variability were recorded immediately before and every 15 minutes. Isometric handgrip exercise protocols, regardless of the intensity, did not lead to significant changes in hemodynamic stability, nor when compared to the control condition (P > .05). The systolic BP and double product significantly increased immediately after the moderate‐intensity protocol (122.0 ± 15.9 vs 131.3 ± 19.8, P < .05; 9094.7 ± 1705.7 vs 9783.0 ± 1947.9, P < .05, respectively) but returned to the pre‐exercise values 10 minutes later. We conclude that intradialytic isometric handgrip exercise does not induce hemodynamic instability at low and moderate intensities.
Vertical structure and innovation: A study of the SoC and smartphone industries
Authors: Yang Chenyu 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThis article studies how vertical integration and upstream R&D subsidy affect innovation and welfare in vertically separated industries. I formulate a dynamic structural model of a dominant upstream firm and oligopolistic downstream firms that invest in complementary innovations. I estimate the model using data on the System‐on‐Chip (SoC) and smartphone industries. The results suggest that a vertical merger can increase innovation and welfare, mainly driven by the investment coordination of the merged firms. I also find that subsidizing the upstream innovation increases overall private investment, innovation, and welfare.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management: Evidence from Shareholder Proposals*
Authors: Fan Zhongwen , Radhakrishnan Suresh , Zhang Yuan 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTWe examine the causal effects of corporate governance on earnings management using shareholder‐sponsored proposals that pass or fail by a small margin of votes in annual shareholder meetings. This setting provides a causal estimate that overcomes concerns of endogeneity. Specifically, compared with firms whose shareholder proposals fall just short of a majority threshold, firms whose shareholder proposals narrowly pass have similar characteristics but a discretely higher likelihood of implementing improvements in governance. As such, we expect that firms whose shareholder proposals pass the threshold by a small margin exhibit a significantly lower level of earnings management. Employing a regression discontinuity design, we find results that support our expectation based on the propensity to just meet or beat analysts' forecasts by one cent as a proxy for earnings management. In addition, we show that the results are driven by governance changes that increase directors' monitoring. Our results are robust to using discretionary accruals as an alternative measure of earnings management. Collectively, the results suggest that improvements in corporate governance curtail earnings management, and support the underlying premise of regulators that improvements in corporate governance would improve financial reporting.
The Effect of Humanizing Robo‐Advisors on Investor Judgments*
Authors: Hodge Frank D. , Mendoza Kim I. , Sinha Roshan K. 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTWe examine the effect of humanizing (naming) robo‐advisors on investor judgments, which has taken on increased importance as robo‐advisors have become increasingly common and there is currently little SEC regulation governing key aspects of their use. In our first experiment, we predict and find that investors are more likely to rely on the investment recommendation of an unnamed robo‐advisor, whereas they are more likely to rely on the investment recommendation of a named human advisor. Theory suggests one reason that naming a robo‐advisor may have drawbacks pertains to the complexity of the task the robo‐advisor performs. We explore the importance of task complexity in our second experiment. We predict and find that investors are less likely to rely on a named robo‐advisor when the advisor is perceived to be performing a relatively complex task, consistent with our first experiment, and more likely to rely on a named robo‐advisor when the advisor is perceived to be performing a relatively simple task, consistent with prior research on human‐computer interactions. Our findings contribute to the literature examining how technology influences the acquisition and use of financial information and the general literature on human‐computer interactions. Our study also addresses a call by the SEC to learn more about robo‐advisors. Lastly, our study has practical implications for wealth management firms by demonstrating the potentially negative effects of making robo‐advisors more humanlike in an attempt to engage and attract users.
Fitness Fanatics: Exercise as Answer to Pending Zombie Apocalypse in Contemporary America
Authors: Hejtmanek Katie Rose 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTPhysical fitness has a long history in the United States. Currently, functional fitness has emerged as a popular, novel method of exercising. Based on years of ethnographic research on a branded version of functional fitness, I argue this form of exercise is an audit system and culture, initiated by the creators of the brand itself, implemented in the gyms, and governed by the participants. This article illustrates that such an exercise regimen is a response to the post‐9/11 world—complete with war on terror, economic insecurity, and border security threats—and provides a window into the necropolitics of elite, white America due to an uncertain, neoliberal future. [fitness, audit culture, race, zombie apocalypse, United States]
“Music Makes My Old Heart Beat”: A Randomised Controlled Study on the Benefits of the Use of Music in Comprehensive Care for Institutionalised Older Adults
Authors: Castillejos Carolina , Godoy‐Izquierdo Débora 
Published: August 2020

BackgroundResearch on the therapeutic use of music is growing, but the lack of experimental rigour and outcomes diversity has impeded researchers from obtaining clear evidence of the multiple benefits of music interventions in older adults. We explored the outcomes of a music‐complemented intervention integrated into the therapeutic activities of institutionalised elderly people.MethodsA randomised controlled study with baseline, post‐intervention, and 2‐week follow‐up measures was carried out with 50 residents in a caring institution. Several indicators of physical health, cognitive functioning, emotional well‐being, pain, and happiness were assessed at all phases.ResultsMixed factorial ANOVAs showed a positive impact of the music intervention on the outcomes in the intervention group (effect sizes up to .78) compared to the stability in the control (waiting list) group. Notably, the benefits seemed to be temporary, as they decreased progressively after the discontinuation of the intervention.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the effects of a planned music‐based intervention on several health‐ and well‐being‐related outcomes and has important applications regarding the use of music as a complement in therapeutic interventions with elderly people. The implementation of music therapy within the comprehensive care of institutionalised people must be maintained over time for the effects to be durable.