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1 – 10 of 20Joseph Collins and Dale Metcalfe
The negative effects of loneliness and isolation on mental health and wellbeing on the neurotypical population are well documented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
The negative effects of loneliness and isolation on mental health and wellbeing on the neurotypical population are well documented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the effects of isolation on the mental health and wellbeing of autistic adults who were separated from friends and family for an extended period.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted shortly after the lifting of the third UK lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic with a sample of 7 people (mean age, 35) formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Findings
The study explored effects stemming from the absence of social interaction. Thematic analysis led to the creation of three themes: The first, “Context affects perception of isolation: I’m going to continue on with my life as much as I possibly can” shows a negative impact on wellbeing, perceived through the filter of larger issues resulting from lockdown and the necessity of isolation. The second, “Being alone can be comfortable: Lockdown has been good for me” discusses the mental health benefits of isolation and participants feeling of being “primed” for that isolation. The third, “Challenges from isolation: ‘Changing routine’” explores the changes people made while isolated, with a focus on coping strategies and communication.
Originality/value
Findings reveal the importance of supporting autistic adults to maintain social contact during and after isolation and contradict research suggesting autistic people are not motivated to seek social interaction.
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Hernan Ramirez-Asis, Jorge Castillo-Picon, Jenny Villacorta Miranda, José Rodríguez Herrera and Walter Medrano Acuña
Financial inclusion in Peru has been addressed through coverage, quality of financial services, movement of transactions, and service points. The purpose of this chapter is to…
Abstract
Financial inclusion in Peru has been addressed through coverage, quality of financial services, movement of transactions, and service points. The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate for the department of Ancash, Peru, the link between financial inclusion and its socioeconomic factors. Socioeconomic variables and financial inclusion of the Ancash department of the National Household Survey are taken as indicators, later contrasted through the logit model, with the financial inclusion variable being the explained variable.
There is evidence of positive and negative relationships between financial inclusion and socioeconomic variables; these are important components for planning financial inclusion. Raising the levels of formal employment, the educational level and considering the area of residence would be a strategy to generate a dynamic of inclusion in the department of Ancash.
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Jenny Ahlberg, Sven-Olof Yrjö Collin, Elin Smith and Timur Uman
The purpose of this paper is to explore board functions and their location in family firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore board functions and their location in family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Through structured induction in a four-case study of medium-sized Swedish family firms, the authors demonstrate that board functions can be located in other arenas than in the common board and suggest propositions that explain their distribution.
Findings
(1) The board is but one of several arenas where board functions are performed. (2) The functions performed by the board vary in type and emphasis. (3) The non-family directors in a family firm serve the owners, even sometimes governing them, in what the authors term “bidirectional governance”. (4) The kin strategy of the family influences their governance. (5) The utilization of a board for governance stems from the family (together with its constitution, kin strategy and governance strategy), the board composition and the business conditions of the firm.
Research limitations/implications
Being a case study the findings are restricted to concepts and theoretical propositions. Using structured induction, the study is not solely inductive but still contains the subjectivity of induction.
Practical implications
Governance agents should have an instrumental view on the board, considering it one possible governance arena among others, thereby economizing on governance.
Social implications
The institutional pressure toward active boards could paradoxically reduce the importance of the board in family firms.
Originality/value
The board of a family company differs in its emphasis of board functions and these functions are performed with varying emphases in different governance arenas. The authors propose the concept of kin strategy, which refers to the governance importance of the structure of the owner and observations on bi-directional governance, indicating that the board can govern the owners.
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Sunjin Pak and Boreum (Jenny) Ju
This study aims to investigate the mediating role of trust in management and the moderating role of employee-management congruence in high-performance work system (HPWS…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the mediating role of trust in management and the moderating role of employee-management congruence in high-performance work system (HPWS) perceptions on the relationship between HPWS and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data on HPWS practices and employee–manager perceptions from a large sample of South Korean firms were integrated with objective financial performance data. Path analysis using STATA 18.0 with robust standard errors was used to test the hypothesised moderated mediation model.
Findings
Trust in management partially mediated the relationship between HPWS and firm performance. While employee–management congruence in HPWS perceptions did not moderate the direct effect of HPWS on firm performance, it significantly moderated the indirect effect through trust in management. The positive influence of HPWS on performance via trust was stronger when employee–management congruence was high.
Originality/value
This study extends the social exchange perspective on the HPWS–performance relationship by incorporating trust in management as a critical mediator and employee–management congruence in HPWS perceptions as a moderator. The findings highlight the importance of fostering shared understandings of human resource practices between employees and managers to optimise the trust-building and performance-enhancing effects of HPWS.
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A hybrid of architectural design and engineering, architectural engineers (AEs)design and remediate problems with internal and external structures and systems of building and…
Abstract
A hybrid of architectural design and engineering, architectural engineers (AEs)design and remediate problems with internal and external structures and systems of building and facilities in the US. Trained and credentialed in academic programs awarding approximately 1,000 degrees annually, AE is a mid-sized specialty engineering degree comparable to computer software, nuclear, or materials engineering. The case outlines the origins and history of the occupation and illustrates three aspects of the academization process: integration of the university’s charter for knowledge production within an occupation; possibilities for conflict and power within universities that can shape occupational outcomes; and the role of the university and collaborations with practitioners in creating change in theoretical conceptions, on-the-job skills, and problem-solving strategies. AE demonstrates academization in a field with specific physical outcomes and functional requirements that are technically bounded. As counterfactuals, possible alternative occupational paths for the work roles of AEs are considered, along with reasons why they did not happen. What did occur demonstrates the impact of the academization process, with both credentialing and new research. AE is an informative example of constructed functionalism, formed and continually shaped by the university.
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Haya Al-Dajani, Nupur Pavan Bang, Rodrigo Basco, Andrea Calabrò, Jeremy Chi Yeung Cheng, Eric Clinton, Joshua J. Daspit, Alfredo De Massis, Allan Discua Cruz, Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo, William B. Gartner, Olivier Germain, Silvia Gherardi, Jenny Helin, Miguel Imas, Sarah Jack, Maura McAdam, Miruna Radu-Lefebvre, Paola Rovelli, Malin Tillmar, Mariateresa Torchia, Karen Verduijn and Friederike Welter
This conceptual, multi-voiced paper aims to collectively explore and theorize family entrepreneuring, which is a research stream dedicated to investigating the emergence and…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual, multi-voiced paper aims to collectively explore and theorize family entrepreneuring, which is a research stream dedicated to investigating the emergence and becoming of entrepreneurial phenomena in business families and family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Because of the novelty of this research stream, the authors asked 20 scholars in entrepreneurship and family business to reflect on topics, methods and issues that should be addressed to move this field forward.
Findings
Authors highlight key challenges and point to new research directions for understanding family entrepreneuring in relation to issues such as agency, processualism and context.
Originality/value
This study offers a compilation of multiple perspectives and leverage recent developments in the fields of entrepreneurship and family business to advance research on family entrepreneuring.
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John Chung-En Liu and Ting-Yu Kan
This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context. Methodologically, this study calls for more research to go beyond case studies and take a similar approach to examine university curricula and facilitate cross-country comparisons.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the status of climate and sustainability curricula in Taiwan’s higher education system. Using the course catalog for the 2020–2021 academic year, the authors constructed a unique data set that includes 1,827 courses at 29 major universities in Taiwan. In each institution, the authors search for course titles that include “climate,” “sustainable/sustainability” and “environment/environmental” as keywords and code the courses according to their disciplines.
Findings
The finding highlights the variations across institutional types and subject matters. Public universities have an average of 4.94 related courses per 1,000 students, whereas private universities have only 3.13. In general, the relevant courses are more concentrated in the STEM and bioscience fields. The curricula, however, are seriously constrained by the disciplinary structure and foster few transdisciplinary perspectives.
Originality/value
The authors seek to go beyond case studies and offer one of the most comprehensive curricula samples at the national level. Taiwan adds an important data point, as the current literature focuses heavily on the USA and Europe.
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Domenico Berdicchia, Giovanni Masino and Fulvio Fortezza
Coworking spaces represent a new, rapidly emerging phenomenon. Available empirical literature is sparse and mostly focused on structural elements, whereas the organizational and…
Abstract
Purpose
Coworking spaces represent a new, rapidly emerging phenomenon. Available empirical literature is sparse and mostly focused on structural elements, whereas the organizational and behavioral dynamics are still largely understudied. This study aims to explore the idea that coworking users’ proactivity (more specifically, job crafting behaviors) plays a key role in positively influencing creative performance, and that such a relationship is better understood by examining both the mediating role of work meaningfulness and the moderating role of knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on survey data from a relevant sample of users in Italian coworking spaces. A mediated-moderated analysis is used.
Findings
The “approach” job crafting behaviors have a significant influence on creative performance, via work meaningfulness, whereas this is not true for “avoidance” job crafting behaviors. Knowledge sharing plays a significant moderating role in the former relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical, practical and social implications discussed help to further the discourse surrounding the relationships between job crafting, creative performance and coworking spaces. This unique work setting enables a variety of value appropriation pathways to be promoted and supported. As such, coworking spaces are also “laboratories” where the future of work organization can be better understood.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing coworking spaces literature as it is one of the very few that sheds light on users’ behaviors, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first one to consider job crafting as a relevant variable. It also contributes to the current job crafting literature by helping to clarify why available studies have yielded mixed results in examining the relationship between job crafting and creative performance.
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