Philip Alford and Rosalind Jones
The use of digital marketing technologies remains low in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with digital transformation being a concern for governments globally. This study reports…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of digital marketing technologies remains low in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with digital transformation being a concern for governments globally. This study reports on the human-technology interaction process, using digital entrepreneurial marketing (DEM) bricolage and a sociomateriality lens to examine more deeply organisational interaction between marketers and digital marketing technologies in these firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study and purposive sampling approach are deployed, using seven SMEs in the same UK region. A bricolage and sociomateriality framework and template analysis are used to identify digital marketing strategies and challenges, levels of digital marketing bricolage and assess the value for each firm.
Findings
Firms practice different levels of DEM bricolage depending on the interactions of the marketers with digital marketing tools. Those marketers in firms who had higher levels of interaction between the human and the technological provided greater long-term strategic value for the SME.
Originality/value
This is the first study to apply a sociomateriality lens to bricolage in an SME digital marketing context and allows us to view the way in which employees interact with digital marketing technology and create value. There is scarce empirical data in this area despite numerous calls in the developing field of entrepreneurship and digitalisation in small and growing firms.
Details
Keywords
Óscar Díaz-Becerra, Rosa Castañeda-Moreano and Vladimir Rodríguez-Cairo
This study aims to determine the association between the companies’ financial indicators and the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific Alliance Index (DJSMPAUP Index).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the association between the companies’ financial indicators and the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific Alliance Index (DJSMPAUP Index).
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a quantitative, explanatory level approach, based on measuring the interactions between the financial performance ratios of these companies (return on assets, return on equity, EBITDA margin and net margin) and sustainability index of MILA member countries. The study used a non-experimental, retrospective, cross-sectional design, using observed data from the annual period spanning 2017 to 2022 for MILA companies and includes analyses before and after COVID-19.
Findings
The estimates show a positive and statistically significant relationship between each company’s financial indicator and the DJSMPAUP index for the period 2017 to 2022.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation of the study was the availability of data, which restricted the use of more advanced statistical analyses, and the inclusion of many factors that can be associated with DJSMPAUP. This constraint arose since the index was introduced only from the 2017 annual period, resulting in a limited dataset.
Practical implications
The study sheds light on MILA’s companies and their characteristics and specific conditions, which can help to improve sustainability strategies with an impact on financial performance, primarily due to the significance of MILA in the world economy and the GDP of Latin America. It focuses on an emerging market with a few years of applying sustainability policies.
Social implications
This study contributes to revealing the progress in sustainability for member companies in MILA.
Originality/value
The study connects the financial performance and the sustainability of organizations oriented to the emerging significance of MILA in the world economy.
Details
Keywords
Amon Simba, Mahdi Tajeddin, Paul Jones and Patient Rambe
This study analyzes technostress in African entrepreneurship. It advances contextualized theoretical explanations of technostress depicting its impact on entrepreneurs who…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes technostress in African entrepreneurship. It advances contextualized theoretical explanations of technostress depicting its impact on entrepreneurs who excessively consume digital technology in Africa. The study also describes how research linking transactional benefits to digital technology has created an imbalanced literature that ignores technostress and well-being in African entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the study’s theoretical explanations derived at the technostress–entrepreneurship–well-being nexus, structural equation modeling (SEM) was deemed appropriate. Unlike qualitative–based methods, SEM experiments on 643 observations of early–stage African entrepreneurs in South Africa enabled robust statistical interpretations of their social settings. Thus, strengthening our analysis and focus on the interplay between the variables of technostress, including overload, invasion, complexity and uncertainty, and their impact on entrepreneurship intentions defined through perceived behavior control, entrepreneurship passion and digital self-efficacy.
Findings
SEM experiments on these African entrepreneurs revealed technostress dimensions of overload, invasion, complexity and uncertainty as moderators of their entrepreneurial actions encompassing perceived behaviour control and entrepreneurship passion in connection with their entrepreneurial intentions. The results also suggested that perceived behaviour control, entrepreneurship passion, and the digital self-efficacy of these entrepreneurs influenced their entrepreneurial intentions.
Research limitations/implications
Besides inspiring more studies on technostress and well-being in varied entrepreneurial contexts, this research also initiates debate on policy and social reforms geared toward entrepreneurs considered vulnerable to excessive digital technology consumption.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study lies in its theoretical explanations derived at the technostress–entrepreneurship–well-being nexus. This conceptual overlay elevates the interpretations of the findings of this study beyond the averages in entrepreneurship and information technology (IT) research. Specifically, it increases their inferential value by revealing subtle and hard to dictate social interactions inherent in how African entrepreneurs consume and are impacted by technology as they pursue their entrepreneurial endeavors.
Details
Keywords
Emmanuel Asafo-Adjei, Anokye M. Adam, Peterson Owusu Junior, Clement Lamboi Arthur and Baba Adibura Seidu
This study investigates information flow of market constituents and global indices at multi-frequencies.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates information flow of market constituents and global indices at multi-frequencies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s findings were obtained using the Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (I-CEEMDAN)-based cluster analysis executed for Rényi effective transfer entropy (RETE).
Findings
The authors find that significant negative information flows among sustainability equities (SEs) and conventional equities (CEs) at most multi-frequencies, which exacerbates diversification benefits. The information flows are mostly bi-directional, highlighting the importance of stock markets' constituents and their global indices in portfolio construction.
Research limitations/implications
The authors advocate that both SE and CE markets are mostly heterogeneous, revealing some levels of markets inefficiencies.
Originality/value
The empirical literature on CEs is replete with several dynamics, revealing their returns behaviour for diversification purposes, leaving very little to know about the returns behaviour of SE. Wherein, an avalanche of several initiatives on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) enjoin firms to operate socially responsible, but investors need to have a clear reason to remain sustainable into the foreseeable future period. Accordingly, the humble desire of investors is the formation of a well-diversified portfolio and would highly demand stocks to the extent that they form a reliable portfolio, especially, amid SEs and/or CEs.
研究目的
本研究擬審查多頻率的及為市場成份的信息流和全球指數。
研究設計/方法/理念
研究人員使用基於改良完全集合經驗模態分解自適應噪聲(Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise)的聚類分析法,取得Rényi有效轉移熵,藉此得到研究結果。
研究結果
我們發現、於大部份多頻率,在持續性股票和傳統股票間有顯著的負信息流動,這會增加多樣化的益處。這些信息流大部份是雙向的,這強調了股票市場成份及其全球指數在構建投資組合上的重要性。
研究的局限/啟示
我們認為持續性股票市場和傳統股票市場大多為異質市場,這顯示了市場的低效率,而且這低效率的程度頗大。
研究的原創性/價值
關於傳統股票的實證性文獻裡是充滿了變革動力的,這顯示了它們以多樣化為目的的回報行為。這使我們對關於持續性股票的回報行為、認識變得實在太少了。於此,大量的企業社會責任的新措施不斷提醒各公司、要本著企業社會責任的理念去營運;但投資者需清晰明白他們為何需在可見的將來保持可持續性。因此,他們卑微的願望是一個較好的多樣化投資組合得以形成,故此他們高度要求股票要有組成可靠投資組合的性質和能力,特別是在持續性股票和/或傳統股票當中。
Details
Keywords
Awn Muhammad and James Hazelton
Responding to calls for accountants to engage with modern technologies and explore data visualisation within a three-dimensional (3D) environment, this study aims to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
Responding to calls for accountants to engage with modern technologies and explore data visualisation within a three-dimensional (3D) environment, this study aims to explore whether social and environmental accounting (SEA) data visualisation is a promising use case for 3D game engine technology.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on visual perception and embodiment theories, this study uses photo-elicitation, a qualitative research method, to explore the usefulness of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D visualisations of sustainability information in a 3D virtual environment. This study provides three stimuli: numerical data, 2D visualisations and 3D visualisations, and asks open-ended questions regarding future applications. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics, preparers and users of sustainability reports to obtain responses to these stimuli.
Findings
The key finding is that visualisation of SEA information may indeed be a strong use case for 3D game technology, but only for certain data and for certain audiences. Presenting information within a 3D virtual environment offered enhanced engagement and contextual understanding but reduced navigation speed and data clarity. Participants were enthusiastic about the potential of a museum-like experience, incorporating interactivity and community, but felt that the appropriate audience was more likely to be novices than experts.
Practical implications
This study suggests that deploying 3D game engine technology can be a powerful tool for presenting sustainability information but requires significant resources. The optimum audience is likely to be novices, and a key design principle is to ensure the virtual environment supports, rather than overwhelms, the information presented within that environment.
Originality/value
This study introduces a novel application of 3D visualisation technology within the SEA context, offering original insights into its potential to enhance user understanding and decision-making capabilities. This study highlights the technology’s value not as a replacement for traditional reporting but as a supplementary educational tool. The study also provides a novel setting for the photo-elicitation method, demonstrating this approach’s utility in a 3D environment.
Details
Keywords
Manisha Chaudhary and Abhijeet Biswas
A nation's economic development is adversely affected by the rising population and the lack of employment opportunities, necessitating the promotion of entrepreneurial activities…
Abstract
Purpose
A nation's economic development is adversely affected by the rising population and the lack of employment opportunities, necessitating the promotion of entrepreneurial activities. This study aims to unfurl the critical factors shaping university students' entrepreneurial intentions (EI) in an emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The study assessed the EI of 640 university students across India's top 5 central universities through structural equation modeling by extending the entrepreneurial event model (EEM) and dark triad theory. Mediation and moderation techniques were used to examine the model's direct and indirect linkages.
Findings
The results show that propensity to act (PTA), perceived resilience (PRS) and narcissism (NAR) magnify desirability, significantly increasing students' EI. The association between the underlying constructs is partially mediated by the PTA and perceived desirability (PD). In addition, the linkage between PD and students' EI is strengthened by the pursuit of excellence (PoE) and weakened by perceived risk (PR).
Research limitations/implications
The study's findings could assist educators, universities, aspiring entrepreneurs, financial institutions, policymakers, investors, venture capitalists, incubators and accelerators in reinforcing entrepreneurial culture in India by establishing a link between crucial personality traits and intentions to start entrepreneurial ventures.
Originality/value
Personality traits such as NAR, resilience and the PoE have not received much attention in the entrepreneurship literature and call for a rigorous inquiry. The study tries to embrace these dominant personality traits by broadening the perspectives of EEM and dark triad theory via a comprehensive conceptual model. It also explores the role of the PoE and PR as moderators to examine the possible association between the identified constructs.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to explore (a) the dynamics of place and space in an institutional setting and (b) institutional work done in different spaces of the same place.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore (a) the dynamics of place and space in an institutional setting and (b) institutional work done in different spaces of the same place.
Design/methodology/approach
Traditional ethnographic methods (participant-observation, interviews and artefacts) were used over the course of 12 months of fieldwork in a multi-organizational video game development space.
Findings
The paper presents two main findings. First, the authors show how the place was a dynamic rainbow constellation and manifested as different spaces over time and for different actors. The authors describe the spaces based on existing literature (accelerator, experimental, incubator or coworking space) or inductively (atrium and hybrid). Second, the authors show how institutional work changed depending on the spatial conceptions of the institutional place. In particular, the authors show dynamic rainbow constellation of fluid spaces raises different forms of institutional policing work (self, backroom, spectacle, tangential and preventative) and the conditions under which institutional policing work is subtly fluid and takes form, but also changes.
Originality/value
Significant contributions are made to understanding how actors work at forming a rainbow constellation ring of fluid labels and spaces of a place. This paper explicates and amplifies the forms of institutional policing work, providing a novel case example of that social interaction.
Details
Keywords
Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov, Mohammad Rezaur Razzak and Ramo Palalić
This study aims to investigate the dual impact of anger on decision-making, addressing the gap in understanding its paradoxical nature in entrepreneurial contexts.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the dual impact of anger on decision-making, addressing the gap in understanding its paradoxical nature in entrepreneurial contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an integrative approach, this study synthesises insights from the appraisal theory of emotion, affect infusion model, emotional intelligence framework, broaden-and-build theory and resource-based view to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of entrepreneurial anger and its psychological foundations.
Findings
Anger exhibits a paradoxical duality influencing entrepreneurial decision-making and behaviour. This duality manifests across several dimensions. Cognitively, it can sharpen focus or lead to fixation; emotionally, it may energise or overwhelm; motivationally, it can spur action or provoke recklessness; volitionally, it may enhance determination or induce impulsivity; and behaviourally, it can lead to strategic assertiveness or reactive aggression.
Research limitations/implications
Although this theoretical examination reveals the paradoxical nature of entrepreneurial anger, future empirical studies are needed to explore its temporal evolution, cross-cultural variances and interactions with other emotional states. This research should help validate the proposed dimensions and implications of entrepreneurial anger in real-world settings.
Practical implications
Understanding the paradoxical nature of entrepreneurial anger is vital for entrepreneurs. recognising its dual properties allows them to mitigate the anger’s negative consequences while leveraging its potential as a strategic asset. To transform anger into a strategic asset, entrepreneurs need to augment their self-awareness, hone emotion regulation skills and cultivate deliberation-based decision-making approaches. At an organisational level, entrepreneurs should foster a culture where emotions are openly acknowledged and addressed, as well as constructively managed. This can help turn anger into an entrepreneurial performance driver.
Social implications
By promoting a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial anger, this research can foster healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems where emotions are acknowledged, understood and managed effectively, leading to more sustainable and harmonious entrepreneurial ventures.
Originality/value
This work offers a holistic conceptual analysis of entrepreneurial anger elucidating its paradoxical properties and implications.
Details
Keywords
Hongkang Liu, Qian Yu, Yongheng Li, Yichao Zhang, Kehui Peng, Zhiqiang Kong and Yatian Zhao
This study aims to get a better understanding of the impact of streamlined high-speed trains (HSTs) with geometric uncertainty on aerodynamic performance, as well as the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to get a better understanding of the impact of streamlined high-speed trains (HSTs) with geometric uncertainty on aerodynamic performance, as well as the identification of the key parameters responsible for this impact. To reveal the critical parameters, this study creates a methodology for evaluating the uncertainty and sensitivity of drag coefficient induced by design parameters of HST streamlined shapes.
Design/methodology/approach
Bézier curves are used to parameterize the streamlined shape of HSTs, and there are eight design parameters required to fit the streamlined shape, followed by a series of steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations. Combining the preparation work with the nonintrusive polynomial chaos method results in a workflow for uncertainty quantification and global sensitivity analysis. Based on this framework, this study quantifies the uncertainty of drag, pressure, surface friction coefficient and wake flow characteristics within the defined ranges of streamline shape parameters, as well as the contribution of each design parameter.
Findings
The results show that the change in drag reaches a maximum deviation of 15.37% from the baseline, and the impact on the tail car is more significant, with a deviation of up to 23.98%. The streamlined shape of the upper surface and the length of the pilot (The device is mounted on the front of a train’s locomotive and primarily serves to remove obstacles from the tracks, thereby preventing potential derailment.) are responsible for the dominant factors of the uncertainty in the drag for HSTs. Linear regression results show a significant quadratic polynomial relationship between the length of the pilot and the drag coefficient. The drag declines as the length of the pilot enlarges. By analyzing the case with the lowest drag, the positive pressure area in the front of pilot is greatly reduced, while the nose tip pressure of the tail is enhanced by altering the vortices in the wake. The counter-rotating vortex pair is significantly attenuated. Accordingly, exerts the impacts caused by geometric uncertainty can be found on the wake flow region, with pressure differences of up to 900 Pa. The parameters associated with the shape of the upper surface contribute significantly to the uncertainty in the core of the wake separation region.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to a better understanding of the impact of streamlined HSTs with geometric uncertainty on aerodynamic performance, as well as the identification of the key parameters responsible for this impact. Based on this study, future research could delve into the detailed design of critical areas in the streamlined shape of HSTs, as well as the direction of shape optimization to more precisely and efficiently reduce train aerodynamic drag under typical conditions.
Details
Keywords
Mary Brigit Carroll, Kasey Garrison, Simon Wakeling, Kay Oddone and Susan Reynolds
This paper reviews the corpus contained in the Knowledge Bank of Australian and New Zealand School Libraries (KBANZSL) to explore the under-researched history of Australian school…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the corpus contained in the Knowledge Bank of Australian and New Zealand School Libraries (KBANZSL) to explore the under-researched history of Australian school libraries and teacher librarianship. Through the analysis of publications in the knowledge bank, new insights into the history of school libraries and teacher librarians in Australia are gained and the intersecting relationship between school libraries and wider library and educational agendas are explored.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a critical, and historical, bibliometric approach to provide new insights into the history of Australian school libraries. It examines the records of the Knowledge Bank of Australian and New Zealand School Libraries (KBANZSL) for trends and insights these records may provide.
Findings
The publications and collective memory captured within the Knowledge Bank of Australian and New Zealand School Libraries (KBANZSL) provide new insights into the rich history of the evolution of school libraries and teacher librarianship and, more particularly, the close links between formal and informal education, schools and libraries in Australia.
Research limitations/implications
The research was limited to Australia and did not include New Zealand.
Social implications
This research highlights the social value invested by the community in free access to knowledge through libraries over time and how this has impacted the provision of such access to children.
Originality/value
This paper takes an original approach to the exploration of school libraries in Australia through the use of historical bibliometrics. It uses this approach to analyse the published record and reflects on what this record can tell us about the inter-relationship between formal and informal education and library development in Australia. The findings provide new and valuable insights into the place of libraries in wider educational agendas and how political and community engagement with libraries influences the provision of library services to Australian children.