bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Remote working in construction: assessing the affordance of digitisation
Authors: Mokhtar Azizi Zahirah , Cochrane James , Thurairajah Niraj , Mokhtar Azizi Nurul Sakina 
Published: August 2022

PurposeAs remote working becomes increasingly popular, remote working could unlock new ways of working through digitisation. However, the construction sector has been slow to adopt digitisation in its processes, making digitisation difficult to assess whether this affordance may be well received and the current capabilities of digitisation to achieve this effectively. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest in remote working amongst construction sector personnel and to examine the factors affecting remote working through digitisation affordances.Design/methodology/approachBased on a case study of one of the largest contractor firms in the United Kingdom, an online questionnaire survey was used to collect responses from 125 construction professionals. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to do basic statistical analysis on the results.FindingsThe findings show that there is a general appetite for remote working on a flexible basis where a mix of “on-site” and “off-site” arrangement was deemed practical. This could potentially unlock significant time and cost savings as well as productivity gains. The main factors affecting remote working were the availability of interconnected systems allowing efficient communication and digital infrastructure that enable automated processes.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to a large contractor company and may not be appropriate for small and medium-sized companies. The findings may benefit organisations to evaluate the practical needs of ensuring effective remote working in the construction industry and unlocking efficiencies.Originality/valueThe paper adds value to understanding the affordances and constraints of digitisation for remote working from the perspective of construction professionals.
Who needs transformational leadership to craft their job? The role of work engagement and personal values
Authors: Wojtczuk-Turek Agnieszka 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss relationships between transformational leadership and job crafting. Using the job demands-resource (JD-R) theory, this study investigates the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and job crafting. The author has also tested the moderating roles of personal values.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on data from 450 knowledge workers representing companies of various sizes from the knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) sector in Poland. The questionnaires were completed using the computer-assisted telephone interview method. The statistical verification of the mediation and moderation analyses was conducted using macro PROCESS (ver. 3.3).FindingsThe findings show that transformational leadership was positively related to job crafting. Statistical analysis also confirmed the research hypothesis that as a personal resource, self-enhancement values moderate relationships between transformational leadership and work engagement, thus strengthening them. The study integrated research on leadership and personal and organisational resources to examine the collective impact of these variables on employee job crafting.Originality/valueThe study is the first to explore the mediating mechanism (through work engagement) between transformational leadership and job crafting in the context of KIBS companies in Poland.
A model-based smart contracts system via blockchain technology to reduce delays and conflicts in construction management processes
Authors: Wahab Abdul , Wang Jun , Shojaei Alireza , Ma Junfeng 
Published: August 2022

PurposeSmart contracts using blockchain technology (BCT) is a tool that decentralizes authority and makes it easier to upgrade the contract administration process by providing an efficient system. Current literature provides a good overview of contracts in the construction industry; however, the specific details of BCT's smart contracts applications in the three categories have not been addressed adequately: (1) information quality, (2) enhancing project schedule and progress payment time and (3) reducing conflicts among project stakeholders. Thus, this study aims to analyze smart contracts using BCT by creating a computerized contract model, specifically evaluating its impact on the three identified categories.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper BCT-SmContract was developed through an automated program that utilizes blockchain to define the contractual agreements between different parties in a construction project. BCT-SmContract model provides a new technique to overcome the current challenges associated with factors identified in this study, i.e. (1) information quality, (2) enhancing project schedule and progress payment time and (3) reducing conflicts among project stakeholders. Afterward, the model was tested to ensure validity and reliability through a construction project.FindingsThe findings indicated that BCT-SmContract was approximately 90% faster to execute the contract and 100% accurate in reflecting the correct information about the project status, resulting in reduced conflicts.Originality/valueThis study has contributed in upgrading the traditional contracting method in construction by developing an automated smart contract model to enhance the processes and achieve higher accuracy.
Understanding adoption of high off-site construction level technologies in construction based on the TAM and TTF
Authors: Cai Jin , Li Zhongfu , Dou Yudan , Li Tianxin , Yuan Mengqi 
Published: August 2022

PurposeOff-site construction (OSC) has been regarded as a clean and efficient production approach to help the construction industry towards sustainability. Different levels of OSC technologies vary greatly in their implementations and adoptions. Compared to low OSC level technologies have been applied widely, the adoption of high OSC level technologies (HOSCLTs) in practice remains limited. The adoption mechanism for HOSCLTs by firms has not been clear, hindering their promotion. This study aims to explore the mechanism combining subjective and objective adoption for HOSCLTs.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed an integrated model illustrating mechanism for HOSCLTs adoption based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), which has strong capacity to explain potential adopters' subjective intentions to adoption, and the task-technology fit (TTF) theory, which well describes the linkages between the task, technology and performance in technology adoption. The proposed model was then empirically evaluated through a survey of 232 practitioners in the Chinese OSC industry using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that both task characteristics (TAC) and technology characteristics (TEC) positively affect TTF of HOSCLTs. TAC, TTF, firm conditions and stakeholder influence have significant positive effects on perceived usefulness (PU), which further positively influence attitude towards adoption. TEC and firm conditions are significantly related to perceived ease of use (PEU). TTF, PEU and attitude towards adoption are good predictors of behavior intention to HOSCLTs adoption. PEU only significantly influences adoption intention and is not observed to influence attitudes and PU, unlike prior research on common OSC adoption.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring HOSCLTs adoption in the industry based on distinguishing the levels of OSC technologies and supplementing an integrated model for explaining the mechanism with the combination of subjective and objective adoption. The study also provides useful insights into understanding and promoting HOSCLTs adoption for policy makers and stakeholders actively involved in the OSC field.
Determining factors in graduate recruitment and preparing students for success
Authors: Jackson Denise , Riebe Linda , Macau Flavio 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThis study aims to investigate graduate employer perceptions of determining factors in recruitment decisions and their preferred use of recruitment channels. This study drew on the employability capitals model to interpret findings and identify ways to better prepare higher education students for recruitment and selection. This is particularly important in declining graduate labour markets, further weakened by COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachThis study gathered data from surveying 183 Australian employers from different organisational settings. Responses were analysed using descriptive and multivariate techniques, the latter exploring variations by role type, sector and organisation size.FindingsFindings reaffirmed the criticality of students having the right disposition and demonstrating professional capabilities during recruitment, highlighting the value of building cultural and human capital during university years. Recruitment channels that require students to mobilise their identity and social capital were prioritised, particularly among private sector organisations. Work-based internships/placements were considered important for identifying graduate talent and developing strong industry–educator partnerships, needed for building networks between students and employers.Originality/valueThis study provides valuable insights into determinants of graduate recruitment decision-making from the employer perspective. These highlight to students the important role of capitals, and how they can be developed to optimise recruitment success. This study presents practical strategies for universities to build their students’ human, social, cultural and identity capital. Findings on the prioritisation of recruitment channels among graduate employers from different sectors will enable students and universities to better prepare for future recruitment. It emphasises that student engagement with employability-related activities is a critical resource for an effective transition to the workplace.
Barriers to unethical and corrupt practices avoidance in the construction industry
Authors: Amoah Christopher , Steyn Demetri 
Published: August 2022

PurposeComplying with the code of conduct by professionals in the construction industry worldwide has become a significant issue over the years. This has led to projects' failure, leading to losses to both the client and contractors. The study's objective is to identify the challenges of construction professionals in complying with their code of conduct and preventing corrupt practices.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative approach was used to collect empirical data by sending questionnaires to 56 construction professionals in South Africa. Data gathered were analysed through Excel statistical tool. Mean values were calculated for the quantitative data, whilst thematic content analyses were used to generate frequencies and percentages for qualitative data.FindingsThe findings indicate that construction professionals experience many unethical issues in their work duties such as inflated tender prices, overpricing the rates, tender-based kickbacks, bribes for projects, unethical methods of project execution, use of lower grade materials than specified, discrimination, among others. However, issues such as greediness, acceptance of corruption as usual practice, lack of knowledge about the code of conduct, the only way to get contracts, part of the process, and peer pressure create a challenge in complying with the code of conduct and preventing corrupt practices among construction professionals.Practical implicationsConstruction professionals face many unethical and corrupt practices in their project management and execution, which they cannot overcome due to many factors. Therefore, there is the need to sensitise the professionals in the construction industry regarding their code of conduct as well as the danger associated with engaging in corrupt practices in their work and their implication on project performance.Originality/valueThe findings give an insight into the critical factors curtailing the construction professional's ability to comply with their code of conduct and be corrupt-free in their line of duty. Thus, professional associations can use the findings in guiding their members.
Shattering the second glass ceiling: an empirical study on women entrepreneurs in Egypt
Authors: El-Fiky Sarah 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze women's entrepreneurship in Egypt by examining their drivers, motives and challenges while applying a gender-lens perspective. This research tries to close the gaps in previous research and determine the impact of systematic gendered policies in empowering women's entrepreneurship and in return, aid in the overall economic growth and development nation-wide. This paper addresses one main question: How can the Egyptian government empower women entrepreneurs through key policy interventions?Design/methodology/approachThe research paper is based on quantitative methodology using three sets of the latest data available from Egypt's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for 2019 and 2018, in addition to the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey of 2018. It examines the probability for women to become entrepreneurs in Egypt's current ecosystem. This allowed for a better contextualization and understanding of the nature of developing Egyptian female-led entrepreneurial ventures.FindingsThe findings of this research emphasized the importance of the existence of policies for training, networking and educational programs tailored for women. In addition to, the unique needs for women entrepreneurs when it comes to funding and applying for loans. Such needs can determine the amounts of funding given out to women, while setting out a repayment policy that is well-designed for women entrepreneurs, ensuing a further discussion of the policies and their implications.Originality/valueThis paper uses and incorporates a variety of data sets that are very focused and specialized in the Egyptian context. Through which the paper aims to inform and analyze the current environment, challenges and opportunities that women entrepreneurs are operating – in Egypt. In addition, this paper provides a set of actionable policy recommendations to strengthen the government's role in empowering women entrepreneurs in Egypt.
Managing relational practices for performance improvement in a complex supply chain network: the mediating roles of proactive and reactive resilience in apparel industry of Bangladesh
Authors: Chowdhury Md Maruf Hossan , Quaddus Mohammed , Chowdhury Mesbahuddin 
Published: August 2022

PurposeGrounding on relational view and contingent resource-based views, the authors investigate the conditional indirect effect of Supply Chain Relational Practices (SCRPs) on supply chain performance (SCP) through proactive and reactive supply chain resilience (SCRE) capabilities at different levels of network complexity (NC).Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt an “exploratory sequential mixed methods design” combining the qualitative and quantitative approaches under a positivist paradigm. The qualitative method is primarily used to contextualize and develop better measurements of the factors and variables using content analysis of the field studies. This then informs the quantitative phase which conducts a questionnaire survey among the apparel manufacturing firms in Bangladesh. The authors analyzed the quantitative data using Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modelling. The authors also used PROCESS integrated regression analysis to test conditional indirect effects.FindingsOur research findings indicate that the indirect effect of SCRPs on SCP through proactive and reactive SCRE is positive and significant. It also finds that the conditional indirect effect is high at higher NC.Practical implicationsThe results have immense practical implications as it proposes to enhance relational practices in order to develop SCRE as a contingent resource to mitigate disruptions. This will also help the supply chain (SC) managers to work through smoothly at different levels of supply chain NC and improve SCP.Originality/valueExtant literature does not provide a deeper understanding of the impact of SCRPs on SCP, while SCRE and NC influence the link. Therefore, investigation of the conditional direct and indirect effect of SCRPs on SCP through proactive and reactive SCRE at different levels of NC is novel in SC management literature.
Does organizational readiness matter in lean thinking practices? An agency perspective
Authors: Akmal Adeel , Podgorodnichenko Nataliya , Greatbanks Richard , Zhang Jing A. 
Published: August 2022

PurposeExtant research documents the importance of lean thinking for organizations, however, as prior research has largely focused on hard lean practices, but little is known about the effects or the significance of soft lean practices. This research attempts to address this issue by examining how soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness, and in turn increase the success of lean implementation.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopts a single case study design in a small-medium enterprise livestock feed manufacturing organization, and investigates the period from late 2011 through the end of 2019 covering two attempts at lean implementation – an initial failed attempt followed by a successful introduction of lean within the case organization. The research analyzes interviews with 29 managers and employees from all organizational levels and departments within the case organization. Secondary data including organizational documents and performance measures and metrics were also incorporated into the research design.FindingsDrawing on agency theory, the authors advance a principal-agent interaction perspective to conceptualize organizational lean readiness – specifically, the authors consider the “state or condition” of four agency factors (goal conflict, information asymmetry, risk aversion and length of relationship), and explore if these four agency factors can be utilized as proxies for organizational readiness for lean implementation. The authors identify the formation of a shared vision and identity within the organization as an effective mechanism through which soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness. Finally, the analysis offers an understanding of how the long-term success of lean implementation is improved by the introduction of soft lean practices as a prerequisite to create organizational readiness for the implementation of hard lean practices.Originality/valueThe study is unique in the sense that it empirically links agency theory and the role of soft lean practices in developing organizational lean readiness in a small-medium enterprise context by defining the ideal state of four agency factors as proxies for organizational readiness.
Analysing the barriers to green apparel manufacturing implementation
Authors: Guo Hailan 
Published: August 2022

PurposeApparel manufacturers' achievement of green manufacturing (GM) goal remains low. This paper aims to identify and prioritise the barriers to GM implementation in apparel companies.Design/methodology/approachFirst, an extensive literature review is conducted to identify the key barriers to GM implementation. Second, 374 usable questionnaires are collected from apparel manufacturing companies to (a) examine the impact of and (b) rank the barriers. Third, interpretive structural modelling (ISM) is applied to test the relationships among barriers. Finally, structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to improve the model derived from the ISM.FindingsThe results reveal that the independent barriers – lack of eco-literacy among upstream or downstream supply chain members, lack of specific company-level training and monitoring of the progress of GM implementation and inadequate support from regulatory authorities – are the root causes of all the barriers. These three barriers are also at a low level of the ISM model, indicating that they significantly affect the entire system and therefore should be accorded the highest priority in dealing with these barriers.Practical implicationsThe results are useful for decision-makers and apparel companies to understand identified barriers, develop potential GM interventions and formulate appropriate strategies to overcome these barriers.Originality/valueThe listed barriers are yet to be comprehensively synthesised in a coherent model and empirically tested in the apparel sector using a combination of the ISM and SEM techniques. The empirically validated model presented in this study is an important step in that direction.
Financial inclusion and human development: is there a nexus?
Authors: Abdelghaffar Radwa Ahmed , Emam Hebatalla Atef , Samak Nagwa Abdallah 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the nexus between financial inclusion and human development for countries belonging to different income groups during 2009–2019, and whether this relation differs across these groups.Design/methodology/approachThe paper constructs an index of financial inclusion (IFI) for different income group countries employing dynamic panel data models estimated by generalized method of moments (GMM) to analyse the relation between financial inclusion and human development.FindingsFinancial inclusion in low and lower-middle-income countries has higher effect on human development than in high and upper-middle income countries.Research limitations/implicationsThe study examines the effect of IFI on the human development index (HDI) at the aggregate level. Future research can tackle the IFI effect on every component of HDI and other aspects of financial inclusion could be incorporated like financial technology.Originality/valueThe originality lies in constructing an index for financial inclusion using the most recent data for a wide range of countries, in addition to examining the impact of financial inclusion on the human development levels of different income groups allowing for more accurate analysis tackling the differences in terms of adopted policies across various income groups; unlike other studies that are carried out on a one country basis or only across one or two country groups that do not allow for comparison across various groups of countries.
Discovery critical literacy, reconstructing identity
Authors: Pack Angela 
Published: August 2022

PurposePreparing preservice teachers to become critical literacy educators is integral to creating social justice classrooms. Numerous theoretical frameworks have been used to introduce critical literacy to preservice teachers. The commonality between the frameworks is the focus on analyzing literature. This paper aims to present an alternative to critical literacy education with preservice teachers.Design/methodology/approachUsing practitioner action research, the author investigates critical literacy education through documenting preservice teachers and a teacher educator unpack their relationship with power and literacy in a critical literacy workshop.FindingsThe author describes the benefits of introducing critical literacy to preservice teachers through investigating their relationship with literacy and power.Practical implicationsThis innovative approach to critical literacy education for preservice teachers the study documents the importance of investigating critical literacy through self-exploration rather than studying the theoretical concept.Originality/valueThis work not only details an innovative approach to critical literacy education but also makes the case to embed critical literacy throughout teacher education programs.