Hoai Lan Duong, Thi Kim Oanh Vo, Minh Tung Tran and Thi Kim Cuc Tran
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of social media in supporting the psychological well-being of young expatriates.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of social media in supporting the psychological well-being of young expatriates.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews with Gen Z expatriates who are active social media users.
Findings
This study reveals social media’s pivotal role in enhancing Gen Z expatriates’ psychological well-being. It fosters virtual connections to their home country, validating their distinctive international experiences, facilitating integration into the host culture and challenging stereotypes. By developing bonding and bridging social capital, social media mitigates cultural distance, strengthens social support and ultimately contributes to positive expatriate well-being.
Originality/value
This research responds to the growing call for studies on the intersection of digitalization and expatriation, offering insights into how digital tools can enhance the well-being of expatriates. By developing a conceptual model grounded in social media and expatriate support literature, this research highlights the specific mechanisms through which social media impacts the psychological well-being of Gen Z expatriates, a previously under-researched area. While physical support is limited by geographical proximity and shared experiences, digital support can transcend these boundaries, providing access to a wider range of resources and perspectives. By focusing on Gen Z, a generation known for its digital fluency and reliance on social media, we provide insights that can inform targeted interventions and support strategies specifically tailored to this demographic.
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Emily Carol Blalock, Yangyang Fan and Xiaojun Lyu
The purpose of the paper is to explore Chinese women entrepreneurs’ perceptions of governance within the Shanghai fashion entrepreneurial ecosystem (SFEE) and identify whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to explore Chinese women entrepreneurs’ perceptions of governance within the Shanghai fashion entrepreneurial ecosystem (SFEE) and identify whether policy is effective and inclusive of women entrepreneurs, potential barriers and if implementation is proceeding as planned.
Design/methodology/approach
We used an adaptive qualitative method incorporating a traditional case study utilizing a thematic analysis with a feminist approach to policy analysis. The case study is based on original data from ethnographic practices with a purposive sample of 15 fashion entrepreneurs and triangulated with six political elites within the SFEE.
Findings
The findings indicate that women fashion entrepreneurs perceive effective governance of the SFEE, legitimizing top-down policies and resources as the “right time” for them to be women and entrepreneurs in Shanghai. Entrepreneurs claim “I am human,” asserting gender equality in business but with circumstantial gender roles that can limit access to important resources.
Research limitations/implications
A single industry, the SFEE, limits the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, did the respondents feel comfortable with the truth? True to communist nations, citizens have few opportunities to voice opinions and public dissent is discouraged. However, we took steps to protect anonymity and excluded potentially sensitive questions dealing with geopolitical strife.
Practical implications
The study outlined six SFEE governance challenges and feminist policy responses that will strengthen the future of women’s entrepreneurship. The study can introduce classroom discussions on gender dynamics and entrepreneurship in the global context. This can help students understand the unique challenges women face, such as access to funding, networking opportunities and societal expectations, and how these factors influence the global supply chain.
Originality/value
The case study has several contributions, including a novel entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) governance framework and the first study to endorse the voice of Chinese women entrepreneurs operating within the Shanghai fashion industry. Further, we contextualize entrepreneurship using anthropological methods. Lastly, the analysis and understanding of SFEE policies have the potential to improve women’s lives, their families and communities.
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Filippo Accordino, Daniela Luzi and Fabrizio Pecoraro
Identifying data reuse is challenging, due to technical reasons, and, in particular, incorrect citation practices among scholars. This paper aims to propose an automatic method to…
Abstract
Purpose
Identifying data reuse is challenging, due to technical reasons, and, in particular, incorrect citation practices among scholars. This paper aims to propose an automatic method to track the reuse of data deposited in the archives joined to the CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives) infrastructure. The paper also offers an overview on the identified data to understand the characteristics of the most reused data sets.
Design/methodology/approach
The reuse of data sets stored in the GESIS data archive, the biggest CESSDA data archive, and cited in publications indexed by Scopus, is tracked. Metadata of publications, and those of data sets, allow us to understand the characteristics and circumstances in which data reuse happens.
Findings
This contribution demonstrates the possibility of tracking data reuse through an automatic way, despite the technical difficulties in doing it. Evidence about the most reused data are shown, highlighting some limits in the tracking practices of reuse. Finally, some suggestions to the actors involved in data sharing are proposed.
Originality/value
The originality of this work is the provision of an automatic procedure to investigate and measure the data reuse, providing information on how it happens. This is uncommon in the social science literature and archives, that usually adopt inaccurate metrics to measure data reuse.
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Craft breweries have a growing role in the beer tourism niche as a place-based attraction but also in daily life as a community space. Research has examined how such breweries can…
Abstract
Purpose
Craft breweries have a growing role in the beer tourism niche as a place-based attraction but also in daily life as a community space. Research has examined how such breweries can appeal to both tourist and local markets through neolocalism in the form of place branding and local embeddedness. This paper aims to consider the extent to which breweries communicate neolocal themes in visual social media marketing through Instagram images.
Design/methodology/approach
This research examines 3,299 Instagram images posted on the official accounts of 13 Houston, Texas (USA) microbreweries and taproom breweries over the course of 2022. Content-semiotic analysis identifies key themes in these images and explores the extent to which breweries signify neolocal themes through these images.
Findings
Manifest image content generally appeals to interests in consuming beer and communicates logistical information about if, and when, to visit the brewery. Elements in Instagram images have the potential to convey meanings about neolocalism in the craft beer product, branding, local embeddedness and place-based experiences but such strategies have not been extensively developed or used.
Originality/value
Although both academic and industry sources recognize the importance of social media and visual content in connecting with potential consumers, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to examine the extent to which breweries employ neolocal strategies through social media marketing.
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Dubem Isaac Ikediashi, Otoabasi Asuquo Ansa, Anthony Okwogume Ujene and Sani Reuben Akoh
Building information modelling (BIM) has been established in the literature as a successful platform that creates an intelligent virtual model for processing data from conceptual…
Abstract
Purpose
Building information modelling (BIM) has been established in the literature as a successful platform that creates an intelligent virtual model for processing data from conceptual design through construction to operational stage of a facility. However, its adoption for facilities management (FM) provision in Nigeria has been slow due to inherent barriers. The aim of this paper is to (1) assess and categorise using factor analysis BIM for FM barriers and (2) model the barriers using stakeholders' personal/professional attributes.
Design/methodology/approach
Anchored on quantitative research design, 205 copies of structured questionnaire were distributed to key stakeholders and facilities managers in Nigeria's three strategic cities while 135 valid responses were received giving a response rate of 65.8%. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics while multiple regression analysis was used to model the barriers. Kruskal Wallis test was used to test the only hypothesis postulated for the study.
Findings
The study established lack of awareness of BIM for FM, poor supporting infrastructure for Internet services, and lack of education and training as the top three rated barriers militating against adoption of BIM for FM in Nigeria while corruption, widespread mistakes and errors and cultural issues were established as the three least rated barriers. Besides, findings also established eight underlying factors that explained 23 barrier factors used for the study which were subsequently used to develop eight regression models. In effect, gender, professional affiliation, organisation, experience, education, expertise, BIM for FM project type, and location were found to statistically predict the 8 extracted factors driving perceived barriers of BIM for FM adoption in Nigeria.
Practical implications
The study has provided a framework of barrier factors to help stakeholders identify specific barriers for which appropriate measures can be taken to ameliorate consequences of the perceived barriers. Meanwhile, an improved and rejuvenated advocacy on inherent benefits of BIM for facilities management by frontline stakeholders could potentially steer up interests and increased participation of stakeholders on BIM for FM.
Originality/value
The unique study developed the first ever regression model that links BIM for FM barriers to professional attributes of facilities management stakeholders in Nigeria.
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Alaeldin Abdalla, Xiaodong Li, Fan Yang and Qianhui Lou
With the rise in international construction projects, addressing the psychological health concerns of expatriate construction professionals (EXCPs) has become of paramount…
Abstract
Purpose
With the rise in international construction projects, addressing the psychological health concerns of expatriate construction professionals (EXCPs) has become of paramount importance. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate effective intervention measures to promote optimal psychological health and well-being in overseas working environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Intervention measures were identified through a comprehensive literature review. Subsequently, using a case study of Chinese international contractors, data were collected via a quantitative survey administered to EXCPs holding managerial positions in international construction projects. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation was employed to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings identified 23 intervention measures and 4 constructs, among them, measures focused on enhancing organizational justice and training practices offer the greatest potential for enhancing the psychological health and well-being during international assignments. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the overall criticality of the intervention measures to the international contractors is significant, suggesting that if put into practice, the psychological health and well-being of EXCPs can be significantly enhanced.
Originality/value
While prior research has explored intervention measures suitable for construction professionals working on domestic projects, little attention has been paid to EXCPs in the context of international construction projects. This study offers an initial exploration of the most crucial intervention measures and provides a valuable resource for policymakers and practitioners seeking to establish a psychologically healthy working environment for international construction projects.
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Masoud Parsi, Vahid Baradaran and Amir Hossein Hosseinian
The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated model for the stochastic multiproject scheduling and material ordering problems, where some of the prominent features of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated model for the stochastic multiproject scheduling and material ordering problems, where some of the prominent features of offshore projects and their environmental-degrading effects have been embraced as well. The durations of activities are uncertain in this model. The developed formulation is tri-objective that seeks to minimize the expected time, total cost and CO2 emission of all projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A new version of the multiobjective multiagent optimization (MOMAO) algorithm has been proposed to solve the amalgamated model. To empower the MOMAO, various procedures of this algorithm have been modified based on the multiattribute utility theory (MAUT) technique. Along with the MOMAO, this study has employed four other meta-heuristic methodologies to solve the model as well.
Findings
The outputs of the MOMAO have been put to test against four other optimizers in terms of convergence, diversity, uniformity and computation times. The results of the Mean Ideal Distance (MID) metric have revealed that the MOMAO has strongly prevailed its rival optimizers. In terms of diversity of the acquired solutions, the MOMAO has ranked the first among all employed optimizers since this algorithm has offered the best solutions in 56.66 and 63.33% of the test problems regarding the diversification metric and hyper-volume metrics. Regarding the uniformity of results, which is measured through the spacing metric (SP), the MOMAO has presented the best SP values in more than 96% of the test problems. The MOMAO has needed more computation times in comparison to its rivals.
Practical implications
A real case study comprising two concurrent offshore projects has been offered. The proposed formulation and the MOMAO have been implemented for this case study, and their effectiveness has been appraised.
Originality/value
Very few studies have focused on presenting an integrated formulation for the stochastic multiproject scheduling and material ordering problems. The model embraces some of the characteristics of the offshore projects which have not been adequately studied in the literature. Limited capacities of the offshore platforms and cargo vessels have been embedded in the proposed model. The offshore platforms have spatial limitations in storing the required materials. The vessels are also capacitated and they also have limited shipment capacities. Some of the required materials need to be transported from the base to the offshore platform via a fleet of cargo vessels. The workforces and equipment can become idle on the offshore platform due to material shortage. Various offshore-related costs have been integrated as a minimization objective function in the model. The cargo vessels release CO2 detrimental emissions to the environment which are sought to be minimized in the developed formulation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the MOMAO has not been sufficiently employed as a solution methodology for the stochastic multiproject scheduling and material ordering problems.
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Matthew Osivue Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Chimay Anumba and Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) offer improved delivery of facilities management (FM) mandates through their advanced computational capabilities. Using second-order multivariate…
Abstract
Purpose
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) offer improved delivery of facilities management (FM) mandates through their advanced computational capabilities. Using second-order multivariate analysis, this study explores the drivers of the espousal of this digital technology for FM.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a deductive approach underpinned by a post-positivist philosophical stance using a quantitative technique aided by a well-structured questionnaire. Data retrieved from the study’s respondents were analysed with descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis h-test, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The result of the analysis conducted portrayed evidence of convergence and good measures while the estimated model parameters all attained prescribed fit indexes. Also, it was revealed that the most influential drivers for the uptake of CPS for FM mandates are resource allocation for system procurement, top management willingness, system stability and compatibility with the previous system.
Practical implications
The study’s findings unravel the necessitated parameters that would instigate the adoption of CPS for the delivery of FM activities by organisations while also propelling the digital transformation of construction project delivery at the post-occupancy phase.
Originality/value
This is the first study to empirically assess the propelling measures for incorporating CPS for FM using second-order multivariate analysis. Consequently, the study's outcome helps close this knowledge gap.
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Ece Alan, David Arditi, Husnu Murat Gunaydin and Emre Caner Akcay
The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects”…
Abstract
Purpose
The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects” who are employed by the largest architectural design firms in the United States of America were categorized according to their personality types by using “The Enneagram Personality Type Model.” Also, the respondents’ opinions about eight team effectiveness outcomes were recorded in order to explore the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The information was collected by a questionnaire where the first part included 144 pairs of statements that were used to identify respondents’ personality types. The second part sought designers’ opinions about the importance of eight team effectiveness outcomes rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The results were assessed by performing the Kruskal–Wallis test first and Dunn’s post-hoc test with Bonferroni adjustment subsequently.
Findings
The findings highlight the significance of personality types in effective design teams. While Type 6 (loyalist and skeptic) and Type 3 (achiever and performer) architects prioritize team effectiveness the most, Type 7 architects (enthusiasts and epicureans) assign the lowest importance. However, the presence of Type 1 (reformist and perfectionist) and Type 8 (challenger and protector) architects within the same design team may involve challenges or conflicts.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this study is that it is the first study in the construction management literature that utilizes The Enneagram of Personality Test to understand the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. This study is of direct relevance to practitioners and could be utilized in design team-building activities.
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Yi Zhong, Zhiqian Chen, Jinglei Ye and Na Zhang
This study aims to investigate the critical success factors of digital transformation in the construction industry and identify whether the respondents' profiles influence their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the critical success factors of digital transformation in the construction industry and identify whether the respondents' profiles influence their perceptions of critical success factors for digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the objectives, a literature review was first conducted based on technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. Then a questionnaire survey was carried out. A total of 86 people were surveyed in this study, mainly from the construction industry. At the level of data processing, SPSS was used for analysis. Among the main tests used were the Shapiro–Wilk test, reliability analysis, mean rank analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test.
Findings
The study identified 15 critical success factors of digital transformation and found the three most important factors of digital transformation. Furthermore, respondents with different years of experience, enterprises with different sizes and different years made no difference in the perception of factors. Respondents' different occupations and types of enterprises created a bias in the perception of factors for digital transformation.
Research limitations/implications
Firstly, the small sample size of the questionnaire limits the reference value of data analysis for certain groups. In addition, this study focuses broadly on construction enterprises without specifically examining different types of enterprises, thus lacking depth in its findings.
Practical implications
This study establishes a connection between TOE theory and the construction industry through an extensive literature review, identifying relevant factors and providing a reference for future research.
Originality/value
The study's results would enrich the research on digital transformation in the construction industry and provide a reference for the digital transformation of construction enterprises.