Prelims

Half Title Page

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE MANAGEMENT

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CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Series Editor: Simon Grima

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CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS - VOLUME 112A

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE MANAGEMENT: SKILLS GAPS AND SHORTAGES IN THE LABOUR MARKET

EDITED BY

ANNE MARIE THAKE

University of Malta, Malta

KIRAN SOOD

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

Ercan Özen

University of Uşak, Turkey

SIMON GRIMA

University of Malta, Malta

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Anne Marie Thake, Kiran Sood, Ercan Özen and Simon Grima.

Individual chapters © 2024 The authors.

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ISBN: 978-1-83753-165-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-164-6 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-166-0 (Epub)

ISSN: 1569-3759 (Series)

Contents

About the Editors

Dr. Anne Marie Thake, BA (Hons) Public Administration (Melit.), MSc Human Resource Development (Manc.), PhD Social and Policy Sciences (Bath) is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta at Faculty of Economics, Management, and Accountancy. She specialises in human resources, public policy, employability, labour markets, and governance. She has made significant contributions in various sectors, including the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, Bank of Valletta, and Deloitte. Her influence extends to her appointments on boards related to human resource policy, education funding, and fellowships. Dr Thake’ s international engagements span across Erasmus lectureships in and collaboration with the Universities of Coimbra, Portugal, Irvine, California, USA, and Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Portugal, the European Parliament - Directorate General for Research in Luxembourg. She was also involved with the European Commission’ s Joint Research Centre related to the Future of Government 2030+. Recognised as a Salzburg Global Fellow for talent and skills, Dr. Thake received prestigious scholarships, including the 2021 Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars program in Montana. Dr. Thake is part of the EU-SEAS project Tourquooise – a joint master educational programme across European universities.

Kiran Sood is a Professor at Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India. She is also an Affiliate Professor at the University of Malta. She received her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in commerce from Panjab University, in 2002 and 2004, respectively. She earned her Master of Philosophy degree in 2008 and Doctor of Philosophy in Commerce with a concentration on Product Portfolio Performance of General Insurance Companies in 2017 from Panjabi University, Patiala, India. Before joining Chitkara University in July 2019, Kiran had served four organisations with a total experience of 19 years. She has published various articles in various journals and presented papers at various international conferences. She serves as an Editor for the refereed journals, particularly the International Journal of BioSciences and Technology, the International Journal of Research Culture Society and The Journal of Corporate Governance, Insurance, and Risk Management. Her research mainly focuses on regulations, marketing and finance in insurance, insurance management, economics and management of innovation in insurance. She has edited more than ten books with various international publishers such as Emerald, CRC, Taylors & Francis, AAP, WILEY Scrivener, IET, Rivers Publishers, and IEEE.

Simon Grima is the the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, Associate Professor and the Head of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management which he set up in 2015 and started and coordinates the MA and MSc Insurance and Risk Management degrees together with the B.Com in Insurance at the University of Malta. He is also a Professor at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Business, Management and Economics and a Visiting Professor at UNICATT Milan. He served as the President of the Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM) and President of the Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO) between 2013 and 2015 and between 2016 and 2018, respectively. Moreover, he is the Chairman of the Scientific Education Committee of the Public Risk Management Organization (PRIMO) and the Federation of European Risk Managers (FERMA). His research focus is on Governance, Regulations and Internal Controls and has over 30 years of experience varied between financial services, academia, and public entities. He has acted as co-chair and is a member of the scientific program committee on some international conferences and is a chief editor, editor, and review editor of some journals and book series. He has been awarded outstanding reviewer for Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance in the 2017 and 2022 Emerald Literati Awards. He acts as an Independent Director for Financial Services Firms, sits on Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Investment and Audit Committees and carries out duties as a Compliance Officer, Internal Auditor, and Risk Manager.

Ercan Özen received his BSc in Public Finance (1994), MSc in Business-Accounting (1997), and PhD in Business Finance (2008) from University of Afyonkocatepe. Now he is Professor of Finance in the Department of Finance and Banking, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Uşak, Turkey. His current research interests include different aspects of Finance. He served as Co-editor for more than 15 books by eminent international publishing houses, has publications of more than 100 papers, and participated in many international conferences. He is Board Member of 5 International conferences and workshops. Besides, he is Chair of International Applied Social Sciences Congress, Co-editor of 2 international journals (Journal of Corporate Governance, Insurance, and Risk Management (JCGIRM) and Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS)). He is also a Certificated Accountant, Member of Agean Finance Association and Member of TEMA (Türkiye Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Resources Foundation).

About the Contributors

Rashmi Aggarwal is a Professor and Dean Commerce UG Programs at Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India. She is PhD, M.Phil, M.Com, and UGC-NET qualified, with a vast experience of 22 years in the teaching and administration at various positions. She has also worked at the position of Deputy Dean of Students’ Welfare handling all the activities related with the students at the University level and outside. She has an expertise in accounting, management, business, human values and professional ethics, and research methodology.

She has publications in many reputable journals and has excellent research orientation. She also has many patents and copyrights to her credit. She has been awarded with the Excellence Award for Most Collaborating Employee. She also got the letters of appreciation for strenuous and meticulous efforts by her in guiding and mentoring the students.

Mallik Arjun Ahluwalia is a Student at Yadavindra Public School, Patiala. With a penchant for Economics and a Faculty for writing, he has won several accolades for his exemplary performance at international and national debate and writing competitions. He secured AIR 3 in the Unified International English Olympiad (2022–2023) and was ranked among the top 5 scholars at the Nha Trang Global Round of the World Scholar’ s Cup (2022). He has several hours of community service to his credit and is also the Editor of his School Magazine and Newsletter. His areas of interest include Identity Economics and Politics.

Ahmad Al Yakin is an Assistant Professor at Universitas Al Asyariah Mandar in West Sulawesi, Indonesia. He is a Lecturer, a National Speaker, and a Leader in Politics. He was the Chairman of the Civic Education Department at the Teacher Training and Education Faculty, and he was Assistant Dean at her university, to name a few of her accomplishments at her university. He is now Vice Rector 1. In the current year, he is active as a Lecturer, Researcher, and National Coordinator of Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka. He is also Active as a Member of the Indonesian Association of Pancasila and the Civic Education.

M. Anand Shankar Raja works with the Department of Commerce, at Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science, Coimbatore, TN, India. He holds a PhD in Commerce from SRM University (SRM Institute of Science and Technology), Chennai, TN. His area of focus is on mystery shopping and mystery shoppers’ profession. His doctoral dissertation was on enhancing job satisfaction through motivation and emotional intelligence, a study concerning mystery shoppers. His other research focus is on work-life balance, gig economy, consumer purchase behaviour, etc. He has presented his research article in AMA American Marketing Association Conference as an extended feather to his cap.

P. S. Anuradha is currently a Professor in the Department of Commerce, Christ University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. She joined the University in 1997. Though her specialisation lies in the areas of Accounting, Taxation and Finance. Her passion is towards women’ s empowerment and sustainable development aspects.

Rupali Arora is working as Professor with Chandigarh University since 2012 presently handling the role of Doctoral Research Coordinator. She is an MBA from Punjab Technical University, UGC-Net Qualified, and PhD from Kurukshetra University. She is the Founder Editor of Bi-annual refereed management journal Management Edge and on the Advisory and Review Board of various national and international journals. She has conducted MDPs for various organisations. She has more than 40 publications to her credit in various national and international journals and her leading Scopus publications are in World Review of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development (Inderscience Publishers-Listed C as per ABDC), Springer publications, and UGC listed journals.

Andi Asrifan, S.Pd., M.Pd., is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang (UMS Rappang) in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

He is also the Head of Students and Alumni Affairs of Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang (UMS Rappang). He received his PhD (Language Education, Concentration in English Language) and the M.Pd. (Master Pendidikan/Master of Education) from the State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2018 and 2011, respectively. He received his Bachelor’ s degree (S.Pd.) in Faculty of Teachers Training and Education from Universitas Muhammadiyah Parepare, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2007.

He got a sandwich-like scholarship at Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL, USA, in 2015. He has published some research articles in leading journals and conference proceedings, including Scopus, and Thomson Reuters.

Theranda Beqiri is Head of Master in HRM in Faculty of Business in ‘Haxhi Zeka’ University in Kosovo. Her special fields of research are labour market, business environment, HRM. She has conducted a research in University van Amsterdam for HRM, she worked for the different Project for UNDP, World Bank, European Training Foundation (ETF). She worked as Lecturer at the University of Pristina and, Adjunct Faculty Member at Arizona State University. She has a Master in Economics for Business Analysis from Staffordshire University UK, and a PhD from the South East European University.

Ishfaq Hussain Bhat is working as an Assistant Professor at the School of Commerce, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Navi Mumbai Campus, Navi-Mumbai, Maharashtra. His area of research is consumer behaviour, branding, and social media marketing.

Luís Cardoso holds a PhD in Modern Languages and Literatures from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He was Dean of the School of Education and Social Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portugal, between 2010 and 2018. He was President of ARIPESE, Association of Reflection and Intervention in the Educational Policy of Higher Education Schools in Portugal (2015–2018). Adjunct Professor at the Department of Language and Communication Sciences at the School of Education and Social Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, he is a Researcher at the Centre for Comparative Studies at the University of Lisbon.

Reetika Dadheech is currently a Research Scholar in the School of Management Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala. She received her MBA degree in the year 2011 from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She has four years of academic experience. She has six research articles or papers to her credit in reputed journals and books. She has reviewed three research papers for reputed journals and is striving to do more. Her area of interest is people from underprivileged backgrounds, women labourers, and the informal sector. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9551-9398

Manju Dahiya is working as an Associate Professor, Economics, School of Liberal Education, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, India. She has done MA, MPhil, MBA (Finance), and PhD (Economics). She is an Economist and currently working at Galgotias University. Her previous work organisations include – Noida International University, Roots Global Education, FIIT, and Gautam Buddha University. She has 13 years of teaching and research experience in different capacities with an exposure of corporate as well as research. She has contributed numerous articles, book chapters, and edited books in leading journals, seminars, and conference proceedings. She has presented her research papers in various national and international conferences and seminars.

Swati Dwivedi is currently pursuing a PhD in Marketing Management, Department of Management Studies, Graphic Era University, Dehradun. She has done her postgraduation in International Business and Marketing. Her focus of work and research interests are on Green Marketing and Sustainable Development in Indian scenarios. She has presented two papers in international conferences and some research papers are under process. Presently, she is working as PGT Marketing in a New Delhi based School.

Ashulekha Gupta is a Professor of Management and Economics in the Department of Management Studies at Graphic Era deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. She is an Avid Researcher in the diverse field of International Business, Economics, and Marketing Management. She has more than 21 years of rich experience in teaching, research, and Industry. She has published a number of research publications in national and international journals of reputed and presented more than 30 research papers in national and international conferences that includes Bangkok, Thailand, and contributed various Chapters in edited books. Her recent research interest in the area of Environmental Economics is published as a book chapter in the edited book of Springer Nature, Singapore. She has published 14 patents at the national levels.

Shilpi Gupta is working as an Associate Professor at the Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India. Her area of research is organisational behaviour and human resource management.

Sandra Jekabsone, Doctor of Economics, Professor at the University of Latvia Faculty of Business, Management and Economics, Department of Economics, Head of LU study field Economics (since 2019) LU Economics Bachelor’ s and Master’ s study program Director (since 2014). PhD thesis entitled Adaption of the Fiscal and Monetary Policy in the Development of the Economy of Latvia. The main research directions are macroeconomics, economics policy, national economy of Latvia, structural and investment policy, labour market, and development of regional and social economy. Number of scientific publications in the last 6 years: 51 (including 10 in the Scopus and Web of Science database).

Purmalis Karlis, Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor at the University of Latvia Faculty of Business, Management and Economics, Department of Management Sciences. PhD thesis entitled Analysis of the Labour Market of Latvia and Its Development Possibilities. The main research directions are labour economics, entrepreneurship, labour market, innovations, development of regional and social economy, and cost efficiency analysis in medicine. Number of scientific publications in the last 6 years: 9 (including 5 in the Scopus and Web of Science database).

Simranjeet Kaur is pursuing a PhD in Human Resource Management from Chandigarh University, UGC-Net Qualified, Awarded with Degree of Bachelors of Commerce and M.com in Management Honors from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She is certificated Cost Management Accountant (Qualified ICWA intermediate). She has over three years of teaching experience. She has been a high achiever throughout her educational career. She has authored many research articles and book chapters in various national and international journals listed in Scopus and UGC. Attended numerous national and international conferences, she has been participant to many workshops and conferences. Her Interested areas are human resource and finance.

Ashish Kumar is Senior Research Fellow in HSS in Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, India. He has published more than 5 research paper in reputed global journals in Scopus, ABDC listed journal. He has also published 2 edited book chapters in Springer Nature and Emerald Publishing. He has also attended several international conferences and workshop in reputed institutions.

Muhammad Masyat graduates from Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia, who took the study program ‘Mass Communication’ at the Faculty of Social Sciences were declared graduated on 4 November 2003. It doesn’ t stop there. Persistence to continue to increase knowledge finally brought Massyat back to being a student at Hasanuddin University Makassar by choosing the Master of Communication Studies program and graduating on 13 May 2013. After graduating from UNHAS with a Masters in Communication Studies, Muhammad’ s Career, the masses were getting more and more brilliant until they were finally chosen and appointed as the Dean of one of the leading universities in West Sulawesi, which is none other than the Dean of FISIP at Al Asy’ ariah Mandar University, commonly abbreviated as UNASMAN.

Muthmainnah is Assistant Professor at Universitas Al Asyariah Mandar West Sulawesi, Indonesia. She is a Lecturer, Global Speaker, and International Leader. Now, she is Deputy Director of Language and Character Development Institute at her university. In the current year, she is active as International Member, International Coordinator Conference and International Trainer. She is also the author of 36 national and international books – Springer, Emerald, and Taylor and Francis (https://sinta.kemdikbud.go.id/profile/books). She is also as International Board for Professors and Expert of Scientific Innovation Research Group, EGYPT (www.sirg.club), International Board of TEFL Kuwait (Member of Large) representing ASIAN. She is also as Country Head, Ambassador, and Country Director for many international organisation representing Indonesia.

L. Mynavathi is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Commerce, Christ University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. She joined the University in 2007. Earlier to that she was working in The Oxford College of Business Management. She had undertaken minor research on cultural dissonance among international students during the year 2013–2014. Her major research project entitled. Efficacy of Women Entrepreneurship Schemes in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was conducted between 2016 and 2019.

Dhiraj Sharma is currently working at Punjabi University, Patiala in the School of Management Studies Department. He has successfully supervised 20 PhDs and currently 6 candidates are pursuing their research under his supervision. He has 14 books and more than 70 articles/papers published to his credit. For the last 25 years, he is actively involved in writing, teaching, and research in the diverse areas of Business Management. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1786-9998; Scopus ID: 37007864700.

Ritu Singh is a Young Researcher who is pursuing her Bachelors of Arts with Economics specialisation from Galgotias University. She stands out as a student who is really engaged in her study and committed to them. Her skills have allowed her to carry out several studies on a range of subjects. She has also completed a number of courses and certifications which include but are not limited to stock valuation with comparable companies’ analysis, Financial Markets, Microeconomics: The Power of Market, and Non-Violent Communication. She also has command on econometrics software like Eviews.

Irina Skribane, Master of Economics, Lecturer at the University of Latvia Faculty of Business, Management and Economics, Department of Economics, Analyst at the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Latvia. The main research directions are macroeconomics, national economy of Latvia, structural and investment policy.

Ravindra Tripathi is an Associate Professor and Head of the Humanities and Social Science Department and an Expert in Microfinance, at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, India. He has guided more than 10 PhD students and 35 research publications to date, 6 edited book chapters, 3 books editor, and he has directed 2 projects provided by ICSSR.

Uma Shankar Yadav is working in Humanities and Social Science as a Senior Research Fellow at Motilal Nehru National Institutes of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, India. He has published more than 50 research papers in reputed global journals, and in the Ministry of MSME. He has submitted his project as a Research Associate under the Directorship of Dr. Ravindra Tripathi, he is currently Deputy Editor in Chief in Bank and Policy Journal and Science Education and Innovation in Modern Prospects, and Associate Editor in 12 international journals, Editorial Board Member in 15 international journals at the global level. He is a Reviewer in many reputed Scopus Indexed, ABDC B Listed, journals like AER, JAST, SEDME, RMI, FIIB, and Vision (All are SAGE Publication Scopus Journal). He is serving as a pioneer in the handicraft industry in the District of Prayagraj, India. He has 3 book chapters in the Taylor Francis Group, Palgrave Macmillan. He has also published 1 book on the proposal of Global Handicraft Index publisher is Lambert Academic Publishing Maldoa.

Foreword

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Labour market performance represents a topical subject nowadays due to its notable economic and societal impact. As geopolitical crises, global shocks, technological innovation and digitalization disrupt society even more profoundly, concerns are growing about the spillover impacts on skills, jobs, wages, and labour productivity. Therefore, tailored and comprehensive labour market strategies are considered by policy makers, economists, and business representatives that render global the keen need to address the nowadays risks, challenges, and emerging opportunities.In this complex framework, the book entitled Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market stands as a notable scientific research output devoted to a highly relevant and complex topic, with profound economic, but also social and political consequences. The book brings together diverse strands of thought and robust theoretical and empirical shreds of evidence to provide a coordinated response to contemporary societal and labour market challenges.

The book offers valuable insights into skill development and the types of skills required for increasing the employability of the labour force in a globalized digital economy, with a keen focus on youth and the transition from higher education to employment. Later in the text, the skill shortages and labour market rigidity are considered in an international outlook. Another interesting perspective presents the skills gaps in the workplace and their challenges in hospitality and tourism organizations, but also in the IT sector. Furthermore, the book inquires into SMEs’ constraints and skill shortages in several emerging economies, since SMEs play an essential role in economic development. On these lines, the specific ways in which experiential learning leads to corporate change are considered next, along with the skill gap that exists between students’ expectations and employers’ expectations and requirements. Finally, the book discusses the effects of self-efficacy among teachers and management faculty members.

I am confident the readers will benefit from an insightful reading experience of this book that stands out through its scientific merit and practical value, the quality of argumentation, and the accuracy of analyses, bringing notable value to the literature in this scientific field.

Prof. Dr. Graţiela Georgiana NOJA

Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

West University of Timisoara, Romania

Preface

The digital revolution and automation are accelerating the transformation of the labour market and the skills required in the workplace. These are also affected by changes in the international economy and employment opportunities. These factors present a policy challenge for all nations and economies. Individuals strive to acquire relevant skills and maintain transferable skills in the workplace in order to be employable and maintain employment. This book titled Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market, Vol 112 in Contemporary Studies in Economics and Financial Analysis will delve into issues, such as education, religion, gender, marital status, culture, discrimination, training, regulations, standards, policies, health, taxation, etc. All of which may have a direct and indirect effect on skills gaps and shortages in the labour market.

It begins with skills shortfalls and gaps in labour markets. It explains the theoretical competency framework that is used to fill these gaps and meet the needs in different fields and areas. The factors that cause change around the world will be looked at, and the opportunities and challenges for skill growth will be looked into. The transition from education to employment in knowledge-based sectors in different countries are explored. The book gives a broad European context giving different viewpoints. The book is multidirectional where it can potentially be disseminated to EU institutions.

The subject matter is relevant and pertinent. Policy makers in the field of education, skills, and employment, higher education institutions, employers, research institutions, and professional associations are extremely interested in the topic. This publication serves as a resource for policy makers and business students. Employers with a keen interest in best practices in other nations and any lessons that can be learned in relation to this pertinent area of research would also find this book useful. The book is enriched and bolstered with European case studies of real-world situations that provide a practical and business-oriented dimension.

The book mainly covers:

• An overview of the evolution of the labour market and workplace skills.

• Diverse country perspectives on skills shortages and labour market dynamics.

• Skill shortages and gaps in European businesses.

• Adaptation to changing skill requirements.

• European case studies illustrating how employers attempt to reduce skill gaps and address skill shortages.

KIRAN SOOD

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

SIMON GRIMA

University of Malta, Malta