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1 – 10 of 35Ahmed A.S. Seleim and Omar E.M. Khalil
Knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) are believed to influence each other, and the relationship between the two constructs is of vital importance to…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) are believed to influence each other, and the relationship between the two constructs is of vital importance to organizational effectiveness. While a two‐way relationship between KM and IC is conceivable, the relevant empirical research has yet to produce satisfactory evidences on the nature of the relationship between the two constructs. This paper aims to empirically investigate the plausible KM‐IC two‐way relationship in the Egyptian software industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts a cross‐sectional field survey strategy. It adopts a research model depicting a two‐way relationship between KM processes and IC dimensions. Two sets of hypotheses describing the predicted mutual influence between KM and IC are proposed. An instrument was adopted to collect the required data set on KM processes and IC dimensions from 38 Egyptian software firms. The partial least squares (PLS) procedure was used to assess the measurement model and test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The analysis revealed three patterns of relationships between KM and IC: one‐way influence from KM to IC (e.g. knowledge application influences each of human capital, organizational capital, and relational capital; one‐way influence from IC to KM (e.g. human capital influences knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer); and two‐way influence between KM and IC (e.g. between knowledge documentation and organizational capital, between knowledge transfer and relational capital).
Originality/value
Contrary to most of the prior KM‐IC relevant research, this research has adopted a comprehensive research model and research method to facilitate the exploration of the mutual influences between KM processes and IC dimensions in the Egyptian software industry. To a certain extent, the research findings confirm and support the general proposition of a mutual KM‐IC relationship. These findings should contribute to the growing research efforts aiming at developing models that can provide a better explanation of the complex KM‐IC relationship phenomenon.
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Ahmed Seleim, Ahmed Ashour and Nick Bontis
The paper seeks to test empirically a variety of hypotheses related to human capital and organizational performance within software companies in Egypt.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to test empirically a variety of hypotheses related to human capital and organizational performance within software companies in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach
A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 38 software companies who are representative of the 107 members of the Software Industry Chamber of Egypt. A correlation analysis and stepwise regression were conducted to ascertain the validity of the hypotheses.
Findings
Statistical support was found for six of the nine hypotheses tested.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limitations of this study is that human capital metrics were based on CEO self‐reported scores. Thus, the ability to generalize is limited to this context.
Practical implications
Of all the human capital metrics collected, the number of superstar developers seems to be the most critical variable in predicting export intensity. Superstar developers are those individuals whose productivity equals four times that of the other developers and twice that of the star developers.
Originality/value
This paper tests empirically the relationship between human capital and organization performance in the Egyptian software industry context and provides support for the recruitment and development of superstar developers.
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Ahmed Seleim, Ahmed Ashour and Nick Bontis
The distribution of knowledge around the world varies significantly with developed countries possessing most of the world's current intellectual capital (IC) compared to…
Abstract
The distribution of knowledge around the world varies significantly with developed countries possessing most of the world's current intellectual capital (IC) compared to developing countries. Most IC research has been conducted in a variety of international settings such as the UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Canada, Austria, Malaysia, the USA, and Ireland. However, no empirical research has been conducted at the organizational level in the field of IC in Arab countries. These nations are socially, economically, and culturally different from most countries in the aforementioned list. This study describes the IC in Egyptian software firms. The study's objective is to contribute to the IC theory development by building a measurement system in an unique context. This paper highlights the key IC indicators as reported by Egyptian CEOs. Ultimately, the resultant report provides them with a direction for building a strong knowledge base for future IC development.
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Omar E.M. Khalil and Ahmed A.S. Seleim
The information technology (IT) related ethical issues will only increase in frequency and complexity with the increasing diffusion of IT in economies and societies. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The information technology (IT) related ethical issues will only increase in frequency and complexity with the increasing diffusion of IT in economies and societies. The purpose of this paper is to explore Egyptian students' attitudes towards the information ethics issues of privacy, access, property, and accuracy, and it evaluates the possible impact of a number of personal characteristics on such attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
This research utilized a cross‐sectional sample and data set to test five hypotheses. It adopted an instrument to collect the respondents' background information and assess their attitudes towards the information ethics issues of privacy, property, accuracy, and access. Egyptian business students at Alexandria University were asked to participate in the survey. A total of 305 responses were collected and analyzed.
Findings
The analysis revealed that students are sensitive to the ethicality of information privacy, information accuracy, and information access. However, students are insensitive to the ethicality of property (software) right. In addition, years of education have a main effect on students' attitudes towards property, and gender and age have an interaction effect on students' attitudes towards access.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this research are based on a cross‐sectional data set collected from a sample of business students at a public university. Students, however, may make poor surrogates for business or IT professionals. Future similar research designs that employ large samples from Egyptian working professionals and students in other private and public universities are needed to verify the findings of this research.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the investigated university as well as the other similar Egyptian universities should consider integrating ethics education into their curricula. Teaching information ethics, especially from an Islamic perspective, is expected to positively influence students' information ethical attitudes. The enforcement of the existing property right protection laws should also curb software piracy in the Egyptian market.
Originality/value
It is vital to expand the ethical research currently being performed in IT in order to help bridge the gap between behavior and IT. The findings of this research extend the understanding of students' attitudes towards the information ethics issues in Egyptian culture and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on global information ethics.
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This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness) project national cultural dimensions of values and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness) project national cultural dimensions of values and practices and the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
Design/methodology/approach
Most empirical research on culture dimensions and corruption is based on Hofstede's dataset of culture conducted more than 25 years ago. Evidence from a more recent dataset of culture dimensions is needed before current generalizations can be made. The GLOBE project is based on the perceptions of 18,000 individuals.
Findings
The results provide empirical support for the influence of uncertainty avoidance values, human orientation practices, and individual collectivism practices on the level of corruption after controlling for economic and human development, which, in turn, adds to the efforts to build a general theory of the culture perspective of corruption.
Research limitations/implications
The findings offer valuable insights on why cultural values and cultural practices should be distinguished as they relate to corruption.
Practical implications
International policy makers as well as managers at multinational corporations can benefit from the findings of this research study.
Originality/value
The research reported is among the first to investigate the issue of corruption from the perspective of national cultural values and practices.
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Atef Ahmed and Khaled Hussainey
This paper aims to explore managers' and auditors' perceptions of intellectual capital (IC) measurement and reporting in Egyptian companies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore managers' and auditors' perceptions of intellectual capital (IC) measurement and reporting in Egyptian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on a questionnaire survey sent to managers and external auditors who were asked to provide their opinion about IC measurement and reporting for companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
Findings
The paper finds significant differences between respondents' rates on IC indicators. These differences are due to different industry sectors involved in our sample. Further, it finds that Egyptian listed firms neither measure nor report IC indicators in their annual reports. In addition, it finds that auditors' responsibilities on IC reporting are ambiguous. Finally, the paper finds that work experience is the main determinant of managers' perceptions of IC indicators, while professional education is the main determinant of external auditors' perceptions of IC indicators.
Originality/value
Prior research on IC used the content analysis approach to measure levels of IC disclosure in annual reports. This paper adds to the existing literature by using the results of a survey questionnaire distributed to managers working in (and auditors specialised in) Egyptian companies to explore their perceptions on IC measurement and reporting. Since prior research has focused on developed economies, we strongly believe that this paper contributes to the existing literature, as we are the first to examine this issue in Egypt as an example of a developing economy.
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Anas Al Qudah, Ahmed Bani-Mustafa and Ahmed Yamen
In this study, the authors aim to investigate the control of corruption (COC) mechanism and the rule of law (ROL) in mediating the effect of culture on terrorism financing. Thus…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the authors aim to investigate the control of corruption (COC) mechanism and the rule of law (ROL) in mediating the effect of culture on terrorism financing. Thus, whether the COC and the ROL can mediate the effect of culture on terrorism financing across 78 countries has been examined. This study can provide additional evidence about the importance of having good institutional quality to hinder any deviant behavior like terrorism financing.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling is used to test the mechanism of the ROL and COC in mediating the effect of culture on terrorist financing (TF). This research tries to investigate the indirect path of culture in TF through COC and ROL and to examine the role of institutions in motivating or demotivating the deviant behaviors.
Findings
The results revealed that COC and ROL completely mediate the relation between culture and TF. This supports the postulation that there is an indirect relationship between culture and TF. Also, the results indicate that ROL is more powerful than COC, as a governmental tool, in controlling TF.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the fact that, according to authors’ research, this is the first study, to the best of their knowledge, that tests the mechanism of the ROL and COC in mediating the effect of culture on TF actions and money laundry.
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Countries worldwide aim to improve their comparative advantages by efficiently using scarce resources for economic growth and development. While many studies have been conducted…
Abstract
Purpose
Countries worldwide aim to improve their comparative advantages by efficiently using scarce resources for economic growth and development. While many studies have been conducted to measure intellectual capital at the firm's level, measuring it at the national level has been under-examined. In addition, while the important role of national intellectual capital in economic growth has been theoretically recognized in literature, this important link has largely been ignored in empirical analyses.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the newly developed index of national intellectual capital from Vo and Tran's (2022) study to examine its effects on national economic growth in the long run. The dynamic common correlated effects technique and the pooled mean group estimation are used on the sample of 23 economies in the Asia–Pacific region from 2000 to 2020.
Findings
Findings from this study confirm the positive and significant contribution of the national intellectual capital to economic growth in the region. The authors also find that, as a feedback effect, economic growth will also enhance and improve the accumulation of national intellectual capital.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper provide valuable evidence and implications for policymakers in managing and improving national intellectual capital in the Asia–Pacific region.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the impact of national intellectual capital on economic growth in the long run in the Asia–Pacific economies.
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Ubaid Ur Rehman and Amjad Iqbal
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of knowledge-oriented leadership on organizational performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) and examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of knowledge-oriented leadership on organizational performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) and examine the neglected mediating role of knowledge management (KM) processes and innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the quantitative and cross-sectional research design, data were collected through self-administered questionnaire from 312 faculty members of HEIs of Pakistan. The partial least squares structural equation modelling data analysis technique was applied to test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
The results indicate that knowledge-oriented leadership has direct and positive effect on organizational performance. Moreover, the findings reveal that KM processes and innovation partially mediate the effect of knowledge-oriented leadership on organizational performance.
Practical implications
This study underscores the imrportant role of knowledge-oriented leadership in HEIs. Findings of this research suggest that by exhibiting knowledge-oriented behaviours, managers of HEIs can effectively manage their knowledge assets, ensure successful implementation of KM processes and augment product and process innovation leading towards superior organizational performance.
Originality/value
This is amongst one of the first studies that proposes an integrated research model and examines interrelationships amongst knowledge-oriented leadership, KM processes, innovation and organizational performance in the context of HEIs.
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