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1 – 10 of 45Badar Latif, James Gaskin, Nuwan Gunarathne, Robert Sroufe, Arshian Sharif and Abdul Hanan
Debates regarding climate change risk perception (CCRP), particularly its scale and impact on social and environmental sustainability, have continued for decades. CCRP is…
Abstract
Purpose
Debates regarding climate change risk perception (CCRP), particularly its scale and impact on social and environmental sustainability, have continued for decades. CCRP is experiencing a renaissance with an increased focus on environmentally relevant behaviors to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, CCRP lacks investigation from the employee perspective. Supported by the social exchange and value–belief–norm theories, this study aims to address the impact of employees’ CCRP on their proenvironmental behavior (PEB) via the moderating roles of environmental values and psychological contract breach.
Design/methodology/approach
The nonprobability convenience sampling technique was used to collect survey data from a sample of 299 employees across 138 manufacturing firms in Pakistan.
Findings
The results show that employees’ CCRP positively impacts their PEB and that this relationship is moderated by their environmental values and psychological contract breach. Specifically, environmental values strengthen the CCRP–PEB relationship, while psychological contract breach weakens it.
Practical implications
The findings of the study emphasize useful guidance for managers and practitioners as a future avenue to restructure the climate change framework by emphasizing the conditions (i.e. environmental values and psychological contract breach). In doing so, the study is beneficial for managers and practitioners in helping to increase employees’ PEB through the development of climate change action plans.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first investigations into CCRP–employees’ PEB nexus in the developing country context. The study incorporates social exchange and value–belief–norm theory, which serve as the CCRP’s theoretical underpinnings. The findings advance the new knowledge about a firm’s social responsibility to achieve the sustainable development goals outlined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
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Dominik Zimon, Peter Madzik and Robert Sroufe
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of implementing standardized management systems on processes related to competitiveness. The authors also want to better…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of implementing standardized management systems on processes related to competitiveness. The authors also want to better understand how these systems create value for a client in organizations co-developing supply chains operating in Eastern and Central Europe.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an empirical study utilizing a survey methodology with two groups of respondents, logistic service providers and focal companies. Data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and on analysis of variance (ANOVA) with organization type as a stratification factor. Deeper investigation of latent relationships between variables was performed with factor analysis with principal component analysis as the main method for factor extraction.
Findings
The research shows standardized management systems are useful in supply chain management (SCM) regardless of the role that the organization plays in the supply chain. However, the strength of their positive impact varies.
Practical implications
The results and new insights presented within this study should prove useful for organizations co-creating supply chains in Europe. Decision makers considering the implementation of guidelines for standardized management systems will find multiple benefits and innovative outcomes within supply chains when choosing to implement. For researchers, the results of this study fill a gap in this area of research on SCM and standardized management systems while providing a path for continued and emerging research.
Originality/value
The results obtained help to fill a gap in the literature regarding a lack of research in the context of Easter and Central Europe and contribute to the advancement of knowledge about the impact of standardized management systems on SCM that includes the importance of both environmental and social performance.
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Muhammad Ikram, Robert Sroufe, Muhammad Mohsin, Yasir Ahmed Solangi, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah and Farrukh Shahzad
This study aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities influence firm performance based on a longitudinal survey for small and medium-sized…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities influence firm performance based on a longitudinal survey for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Empirical studies suggest that the SME sector plays an essential role in the economic development of Pakistan and can be considered the backbone of the economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected from SMEs located in the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad in Pakistan. A well-designed questionnaire was administrated over 240 entrepreneurs to analyze and measure the impact of CSR on financial performance for a 12-month period. The authors used econometric analysis of the data using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results reveal significant relationships between CSR and two determinants of firm performance, namely, employee commitment and corporate reputation.
Research limitations/implications
Findings of the study are important for policymakers, entrepreneurs and other professionals in SMEs sectors both in under-developed and, with further application and exploration, in developing countries.
Originality/value
There is no single longitudinal study prior to this has been carried out on the relationships of CSR and firm performance in the SME sector in the context of the Pakistani economy. Hence, this study significantly fills an important gap in the research.
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Dominik Zimon, Peter Madzík, Scott Dellana, Robert Sroufe, Muhammad Ikram and Kateryna Lysenko-Ryba
Comprehensive management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 are designed to help organizations improve processes, ensure customer satisfaction, efficient information flow…
Abstract
Purpose
Comprehensive management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 are designed to help organizations improve processes, ensure customer satisfaction, efficient information flow, efficient use of resources and many other prosperous management areas. These systems can also bring unintended direct and indirect effects on organizations. In this study, the authors examine the environmental effects that the implementation of these management systems cause.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey-based methodology was used for this study, with textile organizations in three countries – Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The research focused on four areas related to environmental effects. The first area was the level of improvement of the organizations' environmental performance, which was examined by the methods of descriptive statistics. The second area was analyzing differences in environmental effects concerning the implementation of the systems using inferential statistics. The third area was the analysis of latent links between individual effects using factor analysis.
Findings
This study's insights shed some light on the benefits of implementing more, not fewer systems with benefits to organizations and entire industries with new possibilities for economic growth that do not have to come at the expense of the environment.
Originality/value
Organizations implementing management systems can realize dynamic benefits across a supply chain and within a manufacturing organization. Here the authors see an opportunity for ISO systems as a stepping stone to a more sustainable textile manufacturing economy.
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Ryan Atkins, Kim Deranek and Robert Sroufe
Research and interest in food loss and waste (FLW) have increased, but barriers stand in the way of firms engaging in food recovery efforts. The purpose of this study is to gain a…
Abstract
Purpose
Research and interest in food loss and waste (FLW) have increased, but barriers stand in the way of firms engaging in food recovery efforts. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how firms overcome these barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study followed a qualitative, field-study-based research design in which 23 decision-makers at food-based organizations were interviewed. Quotes were extracted and categorized to develop a conceptual model of the food recovery process.
Findings
The conceptual model that evolved helps to explain decision-making related to FLW across the following dimensions: barriers to food recovery, incentives to overcome the barriers, internal processes for engaging in food recovery and external relationships influencing internal incentives and processes. In addition, the barriers and incentives were divided into operational and managerial issues.
Originality/value
Building on the barriers to food recovery in prior research, we explored the processes that help firms overcome these barriers. The model developed in this study is an important step toward addressing these processes and relationships. It can serve as a foundation for a variety of future studies of food recovery.
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Wenyan Song, Yi Hubert Han and Robert Sroufe
Previous research tends to study various sustainable management practices (SMPs) in isolation, leading to inconsistent conclusions about the effect of SMP on firm profit. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research tends to study various sustainable management practices (SMPs) in isolation, leading to inconsistent conclusions about the effect of SMP on firm profit. This research aims to advance the understanding of the linkage between SMP configurations and financial performance by revealing the dynamics of substitutions and complementarities among these SMPs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an exploratory study based on the theoretical lens of the practice-based view (PBV). An integrated text-mining approach is used in gathering data from 302 corporate reports of cross-sectional firms, followed by a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method to examine the configurations of SMPs in achieving high and low financial performance.
Findings
The findings show that green innovation practices (GIP) and cleaner production practices work together as complements for small firms in configurations associated with high profits. However, large companies in high-competition industries often adopt a minimalist configuration focusing on product quality and safety management (PQSM). PQSM and GIP are complements in configuration for small firms in high-competition industries, while they work together as substitutes for small firms in low-competition industries.
Practical implications
This research provides managers with a new way of thinking to support decision-making in sustainable operations management. The complementary and substitutive view of management practice can guide operations managers to design and implement effective practice configurations to achieve synergistic effects.
Originality/value
This is among the first studies to reveal the complex relationship between various configurations of SMPs and firm performance. In addition, this research offers new insights into previously inconsistent findings from a PBV and configuration perspective.
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Dayna Simpson and Robert Sroufe
An ongoing challenge for managers is to define and benefit from their firm's environmental management practices. Firms that seek stakeholder recognition of their practices, or…
Abstract
Purpose
An ongoing challenge for managers is to define and benefit from their firm's environmental management practices. Firms that seek stakeholder recognition of their practices, or face stakeholder pressure for evidence of improvement, increasingly use management standards such as ISO14001. Such standards, however, may encourage firms to use more reportable rather than embedded environmental management practices. Why some firms use environmental management standards to improve practices relative to firms that use them to deflect attention, is an important research question. As paper proposes, stakeholder pressure on firms for improved practices can interact with firms’ expectations of related rewards to influence environmental management outcomes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The intention was to identify significant differences in stakeholder focus and each firm's environmental management practices, between ISO14001 certified and non-certified firms. The paper explored the propositions with a sample of US manufacturers. The paper used a PLS modeling approach.
Findings
The paper identified links between firms with a greater regulative stakeholder focus, to greater use of reportable practices (pollution reduction). Firms with a greater normative stakeholder focus were linked to greater use of embedded practices (policies and pollution prevention).
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to assess differences that distinguish between both stakeholder type and choice of environmental management practices. Further, the paper grouped firms’ practices according to their emphasis on either rewards of stakeholder recognition or internal operational benefit. As other studies have identified, firms do not necessarily adopt environmental management standards for their goals of practice improvement. The study contributes to use of stakeholder theories to understand firm level adoption of and benefit from environmental management practices.
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Yanina Chevtchouk, Cleopatra Veloutsou and Robert A. Paton
The marketing literature uses five different experience terms that are supposed to represent different streams of research. Many papers do not provide a definition, most of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The marketing literature uses five different experience terms that are supposed to represent different streams of research. Many papers do not provide a definition, most of the used definitions are unclear, the different experience terms have similar dimensionality and are regularly used interchangeably or have the same meaning. In addition, the existing definitions are not adequately informed from other disciplines that have engaged with experience. This paper aims to build a comprehensive conceptual framework of experience in marketing informed by related disciplines aiming to provide a more holistic definition of the term.
Design/methodology/approach
This research follows previously established procedures by conducting a systematic literature review of experience. From the approximately 5,000 sources identified in three disciplines, 267 sources were selected, marketing (148), philosophy (90) and psychology (29). To address definitional issues the analysis focused on enlightening four premises.
Findings
This paper posits that the term brand experience can be used in all marketing-related experiences and proposes four premises that may resolve the vagaries associated with the term’s conceptualization. The four premises address the what, who, how and when of brand experience and aim to rectify conceptual issues. Brand experience is introduced as a multi-level phenomenon.
Research limitations/implications
The suggested singular term, brand experience, captures all experiences in marketing. The identified additional elements of brand experience, such as the levels of experience and the revision of emotions within brand experience as a continuum, tempered by repetition, should be considered in future research.
Practical implications
The multi-level conceptualization may provide a greater scope for dynamic approaches to brand experience design thus providing greater opportunities for managers to create sustainable competitive advantages and differentiation from competitors.
Originality/value
This paper completes a systematic literature review of brand experience across marketing, philosophy and psychology which delineates and enlightens the conceptualization of brand experience and presents brand experience in a multi-level conceptualization, opening the possibility for further theoretical, methodological and interdisciplinary promise.
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Robert Sroufe, Sime Curkovic, Frank Montabon and Steven A. Melnyk
This paper examines the role played by environmental issues during the new product design process. These issues are studied through an exploratory research project based on case…
Abstract
This paper examines the role played by environmental issues during the new product design process. These issues are studied through an exploratory research project based on case studies of ten companies. The firms studied can be categorized into one of five major groups: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. These groups strongly parallel the model of new product acceptance initially developed in the computer industry, as presented by Moore (1991). Of interest is the gap that exists between the early adopters and early majority users. This gap forms a chasm. Those factors that account for acceptance of environmentally responsible manufacturing in the innovators and early adopters are significantly different from those factors observed in the early majority, late majority, and laggards. This paper examines these and other differences, and the impact of these differences on the acceptance and use of environmental concerns within the new product design process.
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Md Rasel Al Mamun, Victor R. Prybutok, Daniel A. Peak, Russell Torres and Robert J. Pavur
This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional attachment (EA) and intelligent personal assistant (IPA) continuance intention. While existing theories emphasize…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional attachment (EA) and intelligent personal assistant (IPA) continuance intention. While existing theories emphasize purely rational and goal-oriented factors in terms of information technology (IT) continuance intention, this research examines how users' EA toward technology impacts their continuance intention in the absence of cognitive and habitual factors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study contextualizes attachment theory from the social psychology/consumer psychology literature to an IT application and formulates and tests a new model that is proposed in the context of IPA continuance. Five research hypotheses developed from contextualization and application of the theory were posited in a structural model and empirically validated using survey results from IPA users.
Findings
The results show that users' EA to IPA use significantly influences their IPA continuance intention, along with emotional trust and interaction quality with the IPA.
Originality/value
This study contextualizes attachment theory developed in the social psychology/consumer psychology literature to formulate and test a new model in the context of IPA continuance. This work contributes to the theoretical understanding by investigating IPA continuance intention in the absence of cognitive or habitual factors and fills a critical research gap in IT post-adoption literature. IPA is just one example of technologies to which individuals can form attachments and this research provides an important foundation for future research by positing and testing the value of EA in IT post-adoption behavior. This research also contributes to practical knowledge by inferring that IPA manufacturers, managers and vendors could extend their revenue streams by integrating product features that capture emotion.
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