bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A transaction cost approach for public procurement
Authors: Rokkan Aksel I. , Haugland Sven A. 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework based on transaction cost economics that identifies key factors shaping public agencies’ governance of supplier relationships and related performance implications.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an extended transaction cost framework for research on public procurement (PP) with a corresponding set of propositions. Transaction cost theory and specific features of and challenges to the PP function identified in extant literature constitute the main elements of the framework.

Findings
This conceptual paper makes three sets of proposals. First, public agencies tend to rely on market governance of supplier relationships and when PP deploys non-market governance, such governance tends to be of a unilateral (vs bilateral) kind. Second, increases in purchasing competence and autonomy of PP and particularly if implemented in tandem, will reduce PP’s overreliance on market governance and increase PP’s use of non-market governance. Third, PP should perform better for less complex transactions – and when contracting complexity relates to safeguarding of specific assets rather than when complexity relates to environmental and behavioral uncertainty. Increases in competence and autonomy should increase PP’s performance, particularly for complex transactions.

Practical implications
Public agencies may be in a better position to align governance solutions with transaction complexities by developing their procurement competence, decentralizing procurement decisions and increasing the flexibility of national and international procurement regulations. Private companies selling to public agencies need to be aware of and able to adapt to PP practices such as extensive use of market governance and unilateral governance as the primary form of non-market governance.

Social implications
The paper discusses how public agencies can improve procurement performance through better alignment of governance of supplier relationships with transaction attributes and thereby increase the quality of public services.

Originality/value
The paper relies on a well-established theoretical perspective, enabling identification (and, potentially, correction) of governance misalignment in the public sector.
Psychological contract breach and teachers' organizational commitment: mediating roles of job embeddedness and leader-member exchange
Authors: Amoah Veronica Serwaa , Annor Francis , Asumeng Maxwell 
Published: May 2021

PurposeThe study examined the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational commitment and whether leader-member exchange and job embeddedness mediate this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a quantitative approach and is based on a sample of 298 teachers in basic schools in Accra, Ghana. Participants completed surveys with standardized measures on psychological contract breach, job embeddedness, leader-member exchange and organizational commitment. Hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling in AMOS 21.0.FindingsPsychological contract breach had a direct negative relationship with affective and normative commitment but had no significant direct relationship with continuance commitment. Psychological contract breach was indirectly related to affective and normative commitment through both job embeddedness and leader-member exchange, and indirectly related to continuance commitment through only job embeddedness.Practical implicationsFindings from the study suggest that employers' failure to fulfill their obligations to employees has significant potential cost to the organization, and underscore the need for managers, particularly in educational institutions, to institute measures to eliminate or minimize the occurrence of psychological contract breach.Originality/valueThe study contributes to research examining antecedents of organizational commitment as well as the mechanisms linking psychological contract breach to organizational commitment in the educational context.
Distributed model for customer churn prediction using convolutional neural network
Authors: Tariq Muhammad Usman , Babar Muhammad , Poulin Marc , Khattak Akmal Saeed 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
The purpose of the proposed model is to assist the e-business to predict the churned users using machine learning. This paper aims to monitor the customer behavior and to perform decision-making accordingly.

Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model uses the 2-D convolutional neural network (CNN; a technique of deep learning). The proposed model is a layered architecture that comprises two different phases that are data load and preprocessing layer and 2-D CNN layer. In addition, the Apache Spark parallel and distributed framework is used to process the data in a parallel environment. Training data is captured from Kaggle by using Telco Customer Churn.

Findings
The proposed model is accurate and has an accuracy score of 0.963 out of 1. In addition, the training and validation loss is extremely less, which is 0.004. The confusion matric results show the true-positive values are 95% and the true-negative values are 94%. However, the false-negative is only 5% and the false-positive is only 6%, which is effective.

Originality/value
This paper highlights an inclusive description of preprocessing required for the CNN model. The data set is addressed more carefully for the successful customer churn prediction.
Municipal waste management and electrical energy generation from solid waste: a mathematical programming approach
Authors: Valizadeh Jaber , Mozafari Peyman , Hafezalkotob Ashkan 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
Waste production and related environmental problems have caused urban services management many problems in collecting, transporting and disposal of waste. The purpose of this study is to design a new model for municipal waste collection vehicle routing problems with time windows and energy generating from waste. To this purpose, a bi-objective model is presented with the objectives of increasing the income of waste recycles and energy generation from waste and reducing emissions from environmental pollutants.

Design/methodology/approach
A bi-objective model is presented with the objectives of increasing income of recycles trade and energy generation and reducing emissions from environmental pollutants. Concerning the complexity of the model and its inability to solve large-scale problems, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithms and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithms are applied.

Findings
In this research, an integrated approach to urban waste collection modeling that coordinates the various activities of waste management in the city of Kermanshah and energy generation from waste are provided. Besides, this study calculates the criteria that show the environmental effects of municipal waste. The proposed model helps to collect municipal wastes in the shortest possible time in addition to reducing the total cost, revenues from the sale of recycled materials and energy production.

Originality/value
The proposed model boosts the current understanding of the waste management and energy generation of waste. The paper adds additional value by unveiling some key future research directions. This guidance may demonstrate possible existing and unexplored gaps so that researchers can direct future research to develop new processes.
Predictors of recycling behavior: the role of self-conscious emotions
Authors: Haj-Salem Narjes , Al-Hawari MohD Ahmad 
Published: May 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a model that integrates self-conscious emotions (i.e. anticipated guilt and anticipated pride) alongside the theory of planned behavior’s key explanatory factors to challenge the idea that recycling behavior is driven mainly by cognitive factors. The model is empirically validated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a region where research are lacking despite generating one of the highest per capita solid waste and holding one of the lowest recycling rates.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected from the general public in the UAE using a two-wave survey (n = 287). The first wave of data collection measured the constructs except for the actual recycling behavior. The second wave assessed the respondent’s self-reported recycling behavior for the previous fortnight.FindingsAnticipated guilt, subjective norms, perceived effort and recycling knowledge are the main drivers of the intention to recycle. The latter impacts the actual recycling behavior positively. Attitude toward recycling and anticipated pride failed to predict the intention to recycle. Awareness of consequences triggers only anticipated pride, while the degree of concern is a significant predictor of both anticipated pride and guilt.Practical implicationsOne key implication of this research is that governments in the Middle East have not only to focus on cognitive factors but also emotions to promote recycling behavior.Originality/valueThis study adds to the pro-environmental literature by showing that the decision to recycle is not only based on cognitive factors but also anticipated guilt. It is also one of the first that explore recycling behavior in the UAE.
A review of social marketing interventions in low- and middle-income countries (2010–2019)
Authors: Schmidtke David James , Kubacki Krzysztof , Rundle-Thiele Sharyn 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
This study aims to review social marketing interventions reported in peer-reviewed literature from 2010 to 2019 that were conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper seeks to further contribute to understanding on the health of the social marketing field, synthesising studies to examine the extent of use of social marketing’s core principles.

Design/methodology/approach
A total of 17 interventions, discussed in 31 papers, were identified in the review. Social marketing interventions were assessed against eight elements (social marketing benchmark criteria): behavioural objectives, customer orientation, theory, insight, exchange, competition, segmentation and methods mix.

Findings
Evidence in this review found that most interventions yielded positive outcomes. This supports social marketing’s efficacy in addressing the United Nations sustainable development goals within LMIC contexts. None of the social marketing interventions used all eight benchmark criteria. The study found that there was limited use of insight, competition and segmentation principles followed in social marketing interventions in LMICs. Finally, although present in a number of studies, theory and customer orientation were not applied to the full extent needed.

Research limitations/implications
Findings indicate the social marketing field will greatly benefit from capacity building and training. Too few interventions labelled as social marketing are able to clearly apply and report application of social marketing’s fundamental principles, which is limiting programme effectiveness.

Originality/value
To date evidence reviews draw on interventions applied in high-income countries demonstrating extent of application of fundamental social marketing principles positively linked to behaviour change. This study extends the assessment of social marketing principles, delivering assessment of eight benchmarks encompassing insight and theory in an LMIC setting, demonstrating gaps in application and clear examples of application across all benchmarks to deliver a guide that people new to the social marketing field can follow.
Escalating complexity and fragmentation of mental health service systems: the role of recovery as a form of moral communication
Authors: Weaver Nicholas 
Published: May 2021

PurposeTheoretical generalisation provides the basis for tackling problems of service complexity, fragmentation and disrupted care pathways.Design/methodology/approachRecent mental health service transformation in Wales, United Kingdom, has been stimulated by a policy programme underpinned by person-centred recovery values. This paper offers analysis informed by the perspectives of Niklas Luhmann and other noted theorists to examine escalating service system complexity related to this transformation. Analysis builds upon the findings of a qualitative study employing thematic discourse analysis of talk of people with mental illness and associated workers.FindingsIn total, three themes were constructed in participants' talk: “Competing versions of recovery”, “Misaligned service expectations” and “Disrupted care pathways.” Recovery may be understood as a form of moral communication and autopoietic meaning-making activity, according to Luhmann's radical constructionist epistemology. This has the potential to generate competing versions of recovery, a key contributor to escalating complexity.Research limitations/implicationsFindings could be developed further by continued investigation of the relationship between recovery implementation and service fragmentation.Social implicationsA more judicious, balanced policy-implementation may cultivate optimal conditions for recovery pluralism by avoiding polarisation towards either top-down, policy-based recovery implementation or a proliferation of approaches at the grassroots level. Findings have implications for healthcare settings beyond the scope of mental healthcare, given the prevalence of person-centred care internationally.Originality/valueA simplistic view of recovery implementation should be challenged. Recovery should not be considered a “magic bullet” for mental healthcare delivery. Haphazard recovery-implementation may have detrimental effects of escalating complexity, service fragmentation and disrupted care pathways.
Corporate social responsibility performance and information asymmetry: the moderating role of ownership concentration
Authors: Rehman Ijaz Ur , Naqvi Syeda Khiraza , Shahzad Faisal , Jamil Ahmed 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of ownership concentration on the relationship between corporate social responsibility performance (CSRP) and information asymmetry using a sample of Chinese firms.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a sample of 208 listed firms from nine different sectors in China over the period of 2008–2018. They use the generalized method of moment approach to examine the dynamic relationship between CSRP, information asymmetry and ownership concentration. CSRP index is constructed using environmental performance, social performance and corporate governance performance measures.

Findings
The results indicate that CSRP positively affects the information asymmetry. Moreover, by taking ownership concentration as a moderating variable, the results indicate that ownership concentration negatively moderates the association between CSRP and information asymmetry.

Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study advance the understanding of CSR practices in China. The findings have important implications for the regulators and managers in China for adopting socially responsible activities for the improvement of firm performance and protecting shareholder rights.

Originality/value
The study extends the existing research on the association between CSRP and information asymmetry by including the ownership concentration as a moderating variable. The research showed that CSR plays an important role in reducing the informational gap between managers and outside stakeholders. However, the relationship between CSR and information asymmetry is not studied yet with the moderating role of ownership concentration.
Postal ballot in unconsolidated democracy: Poland's case
Authors: Zaborowski Marcin 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
As the democratic world debates and in some cases replaces physical voting with postal ballots and on-line voting, it is important to refrain from advocating a generic approach to the issue and in particular to distinguish between consolidated and unconsolidated democracies.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper argues that unconsolidated democracies are not fit for the introduction of non-physical (postal ballot and on-line) voting methods, which rather than broadening the scope of democracy may in actual fact be derailing it. The key reason for this distinction is the lack of political consensus for constitutional rules, the weakness of the rule of law and persistence of parochial and subject-based political cultures in many countries of the region, including Poland.

Findings
Replacing physical voting with postal ballot, attempted during Presidential elections in the summer 2020 in Poland, eventually failed and was replaced with conventional physical vote. However, the Polish case demonstrates that in the system with weak checks and balances, postal ballot could be used to consolidate illiberalism not democracy.

Research limitations/implications
The paper demonstrates that further research on defining consolidated and unconsolidated democracy is needed. In particular there is a need to factor in the research on political culture into the definitions of democratic consolidation.

Practical implications
EU membership for Poland and some other Central European states – such as Hungary – failed to prompt the process of democratic consolidation. In fact the opposite happened as the impact of EU conditionality lost relevance. It is important that any change of electoral law in Poland and other rule of law violators in the region is viewed with great care and scrutiny.

Originality/value
The paper’s conceptual approach rests on the definition of consolidated democracy as put forward by Przeworski (1991) and developed by Linz and Stepan (1996). According to these definitions, Poland is not yet a consolidated democracy and as argued in the paper, it has actually experienced an expansion of illiberalism in recent years. The paper also posits that the concept of “consolidated democracy” should be augmented to include the existence of civic political culture as a necessary condition for the maintenance of a healthy democracy.
Financial behavior among young adult consumers: the influence of self-determination and financial psychology
Authors: Park Heejung 
Published: May 2021

PurposeIn the uncertainty of the global economy, many young adults have financial independence from their parents and are making financial decisions in a difficult financial environment. This study aims to focus on debt management behavior for young adult consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe data is from the 2010 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). The NLSY97 includes information on US young consumers’ financial, demographic and attitudinal characteristics, as well as various socio-economic conditions, making it convenient to explore the relationships between financial behavior and psychology variables. In the 2010 survey, 4,110 young consumers were interviewed.FindingsThe results show that self-determination and motivation alone cannot bring about a direct change in financial behavior without the mediation of financial psychology. Therefore, consumer finance research should consider debt-management behavior by presenting different strategies than those currently used.Originality/valueIn the self-determination theory, emphasizes the internal grounds for distinguishing self-regulation from personality development and behavior. Specially, this paper deals with the financial behavior of young adult consumers through self-determination theory.
Topical efinaconazole: A sequential combination therapy with oral terbinafine for refractory tinea unguium
Authors: Noguchi Hiromitsu , Kubo Masahide , Kashiwada‐Nakamura Kayo , Makino Katsunari , Aoi Jun , Fukushima Satoshi 
Published: May 2021

AbstractEfinaconazole is a topical antifungal drug approved in Japan for tinea unguium. Although topical treatments generally have low cure rates with a prolonged therapy period, a Cochrane review confirmed that high‐quality evidence supports the effectiveness of efinaconazole for the complete cure of tinea unguium. Combination therapy is a way to improve the cure rate of onychomycosis. In this study, topical efinaconazole was administrated to 12 patients who had been treated with oral terbinafine (125 mg daily) for more than 20 weeks with little expected effect. Because terbinafine accumulates for a long time in the nail, treatment immediately followed by other drugs can be considered sequential combination therapy. During terbinafine monotherapy, the percentage involvement decreased from 53.5% to 44.0% after 37.4 weeks and the effective and cure rates were 16.7% and 0%, respectively. During sequential topical efinaconazole therapy combined with lasting terbinafine in the nail, the percentage involvement decreased from 44.0% to 18.7% after 28.4 weeks, and the effective and cure rates were 66.7% and 16.7%, respectively. The improvement rate per month of combination therapy (12.6%) was higher than that with monotherapy (2.1%) (p = 0.002). There were no serious side‐effects. This sequential combination therapy with efinaconazole was effective in poor terbinafine responders, making it a promising regimen for improving the cure rate of tinea unguium.
Intra‐population variation in reproductive timing covaries with thermal plasticity of offspring performance in perch Percafluviatilis
Authors: Hall Marcus , Nordahl Oscar , Larsson Per , Forsman Anders , Tibblin Petter 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Life history theory posits that organisms should time their reproduction to coincide with environmental conditions that maximize their fitness. Population‐level comparisons have contributed important insights on the adaptive value of reproductive timing and its association to environmental variation. Yet, despite its central role to ecology and evolution, the causes and consequences of variation in reproductive timing among individuals within populations are poorly understood in vertebrates other than birds.

Using a combination of observational field studies and a split‐brood experiment, we investigated whether differences in breeding time were associated with changes in hatching success, reproductive allocation and reaction norms linking offspring performance to temperature within an anadromous Baltic Sea population of perch Perca fluviatilis.

Field observations revealed substantial variation in reproductive timing, with the breeding period lasting almost 2 months and occurring in temperatures ranging from 10 to 21℃. The hatching success of perch decreased as the reproductive season progressed. At the same time, the reproductive allocation strategy changed over the season, late breeders (the offspring of which were introduced into a high resource environment and increased predation pressure) produced more and smaller eggs that resulted in smaller larvae, compared with early breeders.

The split‐brood experiment in which eggs were incubated in different temperatures (10, 12, 15, 18°C) showed that differences in reproductive timing were associated with a change in the shape of the reaction norm linking offspring performance to water temperature indicative of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, with the offspring of early breeders performing best in low temperatures and the offspring of late breeders performing best in high temperatures.

The seasonal changes in reproductive traits and the shape of the thermal performance suggest time‐dependent adaptive differences among individuals within the population. Management actions aimed at preserving and restoring variation in the timing of reproductive events will thus likely also influence variation in associated life history traits and thermal performance curves, which could safeguard populations against environmental challenges and changes associated with exploitation and global warming.