bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Islamic work ethic among employees in Egypt
Authors: A. El-Kot Ghada , J. Burke Ronald 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– This study aims to examine the relationship of the Islamic work ethic (IWE) and individualism among a large sample of supervisors working in Egypt, replicating earlier work by Ali (2005, 1987).

Design/methodology/approach
– Data were collected from 484 male and female supervisors working in manufacturing organizations using anonymously completed questionnaires, 48 per cent response rate.

Findings
– Measures of IWE and individualism were highly reliable and significantly and positively correlated (0.39, p < 0.001), replicating Ali’s work. Males and females scored similarly on both measures. Younger mangers were more individualistic, again supporting Ali’s findings. The Egyptian sample also scored very high on both measures, as do samples from other countries. Factor analysis of the IWE suggested two interpretable factors and the possibility of creating a shorter version of the IWE.

Research limitations/implications
– An interesting question becomes why are levels of economic performance in these countries relatively low despite very high levels of commitment to the IWE? This raised the issue of potential social desirability in the measure of IWE. Future research must include indicators of both individual and work unit performance to examine this further.

Practical implications
– Suggestions are offered on ways that organizations can develop reliable and valid measures of the IWE and examine their relationships with actual job and work group performance.

Originality/value
– Supports continuing research on the usefulness of the IWE concept and measures in management research.
Islamic bank rent
Authors: Suzuki Yasushi , Sohrab Uddin S.M. 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– This paper aims to draw on the bank rent approach to evaluate the existing pattern of financing of Islamic banks and to propose a fairly new conceptualization of Islamic bank rent.

Design/methodology/approach
– The bank rent theory is adopted to generate the theoretical underpinnings of the issue. After that, empirical evidence from the banking sector of Bangladesh is used to support the arguments.

Findings
– Repeated transactions under murabaha are observed in the Islamic banking sector of Bangladesh. The asset-based financing gives the Bangladeshi Islamic banks relatively higher Islamic bank rent opportunity for protecting their “franchise value” as Shari’ah-compliant lenders, while responding to the periodic volatility in transaction costs of profit-and-loss sharing.

Research limitations/implications
– The bank rent approach suggests that the murabaha syndrome can be ironically justifiable. On the other hand, the current profit-and-loss sharing risk provides an idea of the difficulty in assuming the participatory financing with higher credit risk in practice. Islamic scholars and the regulatory authority need to design an appropriate financial architecture which can create different levels of rent opportunities for Islamic banks to avail the benefit from the variety of Islamic financing as declared by Islamic Shari’ah.

Originality/value
– This paper introduces a fairly new concept of “Islamic bank rent” to make sense of the murabaha syndrome. This approach also contributes to clarifying the unique risk and cost to be compensated with the spreads that Islamic banks are expected to earn. To draw empirical evidence, as far as it could be ascertained, the data of both Islamic banks and conventional banks with Islamic banking windows/branches are used for the first time.
Deflection model for robotic friction stir welding
Authors: De Backer Jeroen , Bolmsjö Gunnar 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– This paper aims to present a deflection model to improve positional accuracy of industrial robots. Earlier studies have demonstrated the lack of accuracy of heavy-duty robots when exposed to high external forces. One application where the robot is pushed to its limits in terms of forces is friction stir welding (FSW). This process requires the robot to deliver forces of several kilonewtons causing deflections in the robot joints. Especially for robots with serial kinematics, these deflections will result in significant tool deviations, leading to inferior weld quality.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper presents a kinematic deflection model, assuming a rigid link and flexible joint serial kinematics robot. As robotic FSW is a process which involves high external loads and a constant welding speed of usually below 50 mm/s, many of the dynamic effects are negligible. The model uses force feedback from a force sensor, embedded on the robot, and predicts the tool deviation, based on the measured external forces. The deviation is fed back to the robot controller and used for online path compensation.

Findings
– The model is verified by subjecting an FSW tool to an external load and moving it along a path, with and without deviation compensation. The measured tool deviation with compensation was within the allowable tolerance for FSW.

Practical implications
– The model can be applied to other robots with a force sensor.

Originality/value
– The presented deflection model is based on force feedback and can predict and compensate tool deviations online.
Robot ethics and law
Authors: Bogue Robert 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– This first part of a two-part paper aims to provide an insight into the ethical and legal issues associated with certain classes of robot. This part is concerned with ethics.

Design/methodology/approach
– Following an introduction, this paper first considers the ethical deliberations surrounding robots used in warfare and healthcare. It then addresses the issue of robot truth and deception and subsequently discusses some on-going deliberations and possible ways forward. Finally, brief conclusions are drawn.

Findings
– Robot ethics are the topic of wide-ranging debate and encompass such diverse applications as military drones and robotic carers. Many ethical considerations have been raised including philosophical issues such as moral behaviour and truth and deception. Preliminary research suggests that some of these concerns may be ameliorated through the use of software which encompasses ethical principles. It is widely recognised that a multidisciplinary approach is required and there is growing evidence of this.

Originality/value
– This paper provides an insight into the highly topical and complex issue of robot ethics.
An empirical analysis of the determinants of the cash conversion cycle in Kenyan listed non-financial firms
Authors: Mutua Mathuva David 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether non-financial firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) exhibit a target cash conversion cycle (CCC). The study also examines the speed of adjustment to the target CCC and the factors that influence corporate decisions on the optimum length of the CCC.

Design/methodology/approach
– Based on a sample of 33 publicly traded firms on the NSE for the period between 1993 and 2008, cross-sectional and time series analyses were carried out on the data comprising 468 firm-years. A target adjustment model was developed to examine the significant determinants of the CCC. Various regression approaches including ordinary least squares, fixed effects and two-stage least squares estimation models were used in data analysis.

Findings
– The results, which are robust for endogeneity, show that non-financial firms listed on the NSE maintain a target CCC. Further analysis reveals that these firms adjust to the target CCC at a slower rate. The results show that the determinants of the CCC include both firm-specific and economy-wide factors. Specifically, the study establishes that older firms and firms with more internal resources maintain longer CCC. Moreover higher return on assets, investment in capital expenditure and growth opportunities have a significant negative association with the CCC. The results also show a significant positive relation between inflation and the CCC.

Practical implications
– The study establishes that other than internal firm-specific factors, the CCC is also influenced by inflation, which is an external, economy-wide factor.

Originality/value
– To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine whether listed non-financial firms in a frontier market maintain a target CCC.
Interpreting the world across a boundary
Authors: David Madden Andrew 
Published: July 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information and boundaries. Life depends on boundaries; but in order to survive an organism needs to make decisions based on an interpretation of the environment beyond its boundaries: it therefore needs information.Design/methodology/approach– The paper explores the evolution of physical, social and cultural boundaries and considers how they have shaped ways in which information is gathered and used.Findings– Several evolutionary developments are reviewed. The paper argues that each one has generated an additional boundary and that each new boundary has affected the information needs within it. The paper argues that all living things use information to help address three fundamental concerns: “Where can the energy needed to stay alive be found?”, “How can it be stored?”, and “How can use of energy be reduced?” Because these questions are fundamental at a biological level they are also fundamental at a societal level. One way to increase energy efficiency was for organisms to grow larger. This brought risks which were alleviated by the evolution of better information gathering and processing tools. Amongst these tools were the means to communicate, which afforded the evolution of social boundaries.Originality/value– This is a new perspective on a topic of growing interest in information science and demonstrates further the significance of information as a factor in the shaping of life.
Factors affecting citizen adoption of transactional electronic government
Authors: Akhtar Shareef Mahmud , Kumar Vinod , Kumar Uma , Dwivedi Yogesh 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to identify and model adoption criteria of citizens for electronic-government (eGov) service at the transaction maturity stage.

Design/methodology/approach
– The empirical study was conducted among the citizens of Ontario, Canada who have experience of using Canadian e-Gov system.

Findings
– From statistical analysis through LISREL, this study revealed that ability to use and assurance to use are the critical factors for adoption of eGov at the transaction phase (GAM-T).

Originality/value
– The findings of this research can be considered as original as this paper concludes that eGov functional characteristics are not only different at different levels of service maturity, but adoption factors at different levels of service maturity are also potentially different. From static to interaction to transaction, citizens perceive different factors to be important for creating the behavioral attitude and intention to accept the eGov system and to use it.
Personal values and ethical fashion consumption
Authors: Manchiraju Srikant , Sadachar Amrut 
Published: July 2014

Purpose– The role of personal values in consumer behavior is well documented; however, in the context of fashion consumption, the role of personal values’ influence on consumers’ ethical behavior has not been studied. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to seek to explore whether consumers’ personal values predict consumers’ behavioral intentions to engage in ethical fashion consumption.Design/methodology/approach– The present study employed the Fritzsche model, which states that an individual's personal values are related to his/her intentions to engage in ethical behavior. The present study examined the causal relationship between the personal values and behavioral intentions to engage in ethical fashion consumption. Data collected from the US national sample were subjected to structural equation modeling.Findings– The proposed model explained 42 percent of variance in consumer's behavioral intentions toward ethical fashion consumption. Furthermore, a significant negative relationship between self-enhancement personal values and behavioral intention toward ethical fashion consumption was found. Several theoretical and practical implications related to the present study were discussed.Originality/value– To the authors’ knowledge, the study is first of its kind in several aspects: first, ethical fashion consumption has been conceptualized in the broadest definition possible, as oppose to focussing on a particular facet of fashion consumption (e.g. organic products or counterfeit fashion); second, linking consumer personal values as a predictor of his/her ethical fashion consumption behavioral intentions; and third, employing the Fritzsche model in fashion behavior context.
College students’ responses to prosocial marketing claims on apparel hang tags
Authors: H. Hyllegard Karen , Paff Ogle Jennifer , Yan Ruoh-Nan 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ responses to prosocial marketing claims presented on apparel hang tags. Guided by the theory of reasoned of action, this study examined the impact of varied prosocial claims (environment, labor, cancer charity) upon college students’ evaluations of hang tags used to promote university-branded apparel (i.e. t-shirts) as well as their attitudes and patronage intentions toward the apparel.

Design/methodology/approach
– An intercept survey approach, with an experimental design component, was used to administer a written questionnaire to 262 college students. The experimental design component required participants to examine a university-branded t-shirt and to read the information provided on the product hang tag attached to the t-shirt.

Findings
– In total, 60 percent of college students read apparel hang tags on a very frequent or frequent basis to gain information about brand name, care instructions, and fiber content. Further, college students evaluated apparel hang tags featuring prosocial marketing claims more positively than they evaluated hang tags with no prosocial marketing claim. In turn, these evaluations positively predicted the amount of money students were willing to pay for a university-branded t-shirt as well as their attitudes and purchase intentions toward university-branded apparel.

Research limitations/implications
– Findings suggest that apparel companies engaged in socially responsible business practices may wish to develop hang tags that address both desired product attributes as well as company engagement in prosocial initiatives.

Originality/value
– This study extends the understanding of the role that prosocial marketing claims play in informing consumer's attitudes and behaviors relative to apparel.
When the shoe doesn’t fit: female consumers’ negative emotions
Authors: G. Curwen Lisa , Park Juyeon 
Published: July 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify and map out consumer emotions and their triggers and coping strategies practiced when the consumer has a dissatisfactory footwear product experience.Design/methodology/approach– A content analysis approach was employed to determine various types of consumer emotions and coping strategies and organize them into content categories in a systematic fashion. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 female consumers.Findings– The researchers propose a typology of emotional triggers in the pre- and post-purchase stages which describe consumers’ dissatisfactory purchase experiences with footwear products. Three negative emotional triggers in the pre-purchase stage were identified, including the act of shoe shopping itself, poor availability of products, and unfair return on investment. Negative emotional triggers that caused consumers’ stresses in the post-purchase stage included uncertainty in outcome and unmet expectation. Problem- and emotion-focussed coping strategies were also identified.Research limitations/implications– This study used snowball sampling for locating a hidden consumer population that was dissatisfied with footwear products. Although the number of interviewees was appropriate for a qualitative study, the size limits generalization of study findings.Practical implications– Implications of this study for the footwear industry are to provide better products for the consumer to reduce her emotional stress and increase satisfaction. The industry may consider restructuring size assortments, evaluating users’ experiences, improving product quality, performance, and service, and providing customization.Originality/value– Literature is lacking on the ways in which consumers manage stressful emotional experiences of footwear purchase-related situations. This research is the first to identify valuable information on the mechanism of female consumers’ negotiation process of pre- and post-purchase footwear experiences. It is of value to researchers, designers, manufacturers, and retailers.
“Rules of engagement”
Authors: Mouraviev Nikolai , Kakabadse Nada K. 
Published: July 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent one can apply experiential learning theory (ELT) to the public-private partnership (PPP) setting in Russia and to draw insights regarding the learning cycle ' s nature. Additionally, the paper assesses whether the PPP case confirms Kolb ' s ELT.Design/methodology/approach– The case study draws upon primary data which the authors collected by interviewing informants including a PPP operator ' s managers, lawyers from Russian law firms and an expert from the National PPP Centre. The authors accomplished data source triangulation in order to ensure a high degree of research validity.Findings– Experiential learning has resulted in a successful and a relatively fast PPP project launch without the concessionary framework. The lessons learned include the need for effective stakeholder engagement; avoiding being stuck in bureaucracy such as collaboration with Federal Ministries and anti-trust agency; avoiding application for government funding as the approval process is tangled and lengthy; attracting strategic private investors; shaping positive public perception of a PPP project; and making continuous efforts in order to effectively mitigate the public acceptance risk.Originality/value– The paper contributes to ELT by incorporating the impact of social environment in the learning model. Additionally, the paper tests the applicability of ELT to learning in the complex organisational setting, i.e., a PPP.
Application of the experiential simulation learning approach (ELSA) model to teach sustainability to international business management undergraduate students
Authors: Canto de Loura Isabel 
Published: July 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to contribute an illustrative case study on the application of participatory and learner-centred model, using a highly international cohort of students’ tacit knowledge and shared experiential learning in the context of integrating mainstreaming sustainability-focused topics in business education at undergraduate level.Design/methodology/approach– This paper is about the development of a participative experiential learning pedagogical framework which the authors named “experiential simulation learning approach”, with the acronym ELSA, designed to meet the specific needs of a highly international cohort of rather sustainability-reluctant undergraduate management students.Findings– Using students’ diverse tacit knowledge and developing a relevant experiential active learning (EAL) model stood out as being a most powerful teaching-and-learning tool. It seemed to help to enhance critical thinking and trigger cohesiveness in class; this favoured a collaborative learning climate which in turn might lead to the tacit acquisition of life-long skills.Research limitations/implications– The main limitations to the development of this approach were: the lack of context-specific updated and academically reliable bibliography; the undergraduate students’ widespread tendency to refer mainly to “digests” of information (preferably online), rather than engaging in critical analysis of contents in academically acknowledged books and journals; the international undergraduate students’ personal challenges as “foreigners” which may affect them mainly in relation to: group work, independent learning, confidence and communication.Practical implications– It seems that integrating EAL is quite effective in the context of undergraduate management students, particularly in view of leading rather reluctant students to understand and be willing to positively apply sustainability-based principles to their own change management process and to become active leaders of organisational change.Originality/value– The methodological framework hereby presented is quite innovative, as it seems to be among the very first to be implemented in view of enhancing undergraduate students’ learning experience, instead of targeting post-graduate students. This is extremely relevant in regards to embedding sustainability concepts, frameworks and tools, as they prove to be much more significant and long-lasting if integrated in the early stages of training of future business management professionals.
Dilemmas in sustainability
Authors: Canto de Loura Isabel 
Published: July 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to contextualize the potential contribution that experiential learning and a learner-centred pedagogical approach may have when aiming to embed sustainability-focused and corporate social responsibility issues in businesses throughout the core curriculum targetted at international cohorts of undergraduate management students.

Design/methodology/approach
– A new conceptual framework for experiential learning that draws on both scholarly and experimental learning. Using learner-centred learning, the approach aims to engage each student to act both as a learner and a mentor, thus empowering them into enhancing their own and the overall class’ learning experience.

Findings
– Applying the diversity of students’ individual cultural mindsets to analyse and critically evaluate some of the current most pressing organizational and national/international dilemmas in sustainability. The preliminary outcomes seem to indicate that this approach enriches the students’ learning experience and motivates them to become reflective practitioners and sustainability-focused leaders in their future organizational roles.

Research limitations/implications
– A framework for an empirical mapping of this important area of teaching and learning (T
&
L) aimed at a highly international body of undergraduate management students. This is currently under-represented in academic writing and practice, as most of the comparable situations so far mainly address post-graduate cases and do not reflect on the international diversity of the student body.

Practical implications
– This research reflects on the importance of embedding diverse views on the same issues based on different cultural and socio-economic perspectives, and therefore it brings value to the students’ experience in view of enhancing their global and international human relations awareness and negotiation skills in view of more meaningful sustainability-focused plans and actions.

Social implications
– Students become aware of differences in needs, resources, cultural perceptions, business standards, practices and policies in place in different countries, and they will be committed to embedding sustainability issues in their future life as business practitioners and will be able to ensure the most appropriate business responses to a planet and humanity under pressure.

Originality/value
– A rather innovative T
&
L approach to embed sustainability issues in undergraduate management students training in a highly international context. This is currently under-represented in academic writing and practice, in spite of the numerous programmes that nowadays bring students from all over the world to study together at higher education/university undergraduate level.