Search results

This study aims to explore the intention to quit and its associations among ambulance personnel and to compare the intention to quit and its associations between paramedic and non-paramedic staff.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 492 Australian ambulance personnel. Participants were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using phone interview-administered questionnaires. Descriptive analyses, bivariate associations and structural equation modelling were performed for data analysis.

The study found that 70% of ambulance personnel intended to quit their jobs. Intention to quit was similar between paramedics and non-paramedic staff. In both staff groups, supervisors' and colleagues' support was associated with mental health symptoms; job satisfaction was associated with the intention to quit. Supervisors' and colleagues' support was indirectly associated with the intention to quit via increasing job satisfaction and reducing the experience of mental health symptoms among paramedics only. Mental health symptoms were directly associated with the intention to quit and indirectly associated with the intention to quit via reducing job satisfaction among paramedics only.

The study findings provide evidence for resource allocation in human resource management. The findings suggest that interventions to increase job satisfaction may reduce the intention to quit for all ambulance personnel. Interventions to improve supervisors' and colleagues' support and to manage depression, anxiety and stress symptoms may help to reduce the intention to quit for paramedics only.

This is the first study to model and compare the direct and indirect associations of intention to quit between paramedics and non-paramedic staff in ambulance personnel.

The well-being of employees in distributed work has never been of more importance. This study aims to investigate the factors that empower or undermine the connectivity agency of teleworkers. Connectivity agency is an important form of autonomy for managing work–home boundaries, recuperation from work and psychological detachment. With this in mind it becomes vital to understand how connectivity agency is shaped by various contextual factors.

This qualitative study draws upon data collected from 27 teleworkers representing a variety of industries and roles. We employed a semi-structured interview protocol and analysed the data using Tracy’s (2013) iterative coding technique.

Factors that influence one’s likelihood or capacity to exercise connectivity agency exist at the individual, group or organisational level. Our data elucidate factors such as the provision of home and technological resources, the state of team norms and shared expectations and the level of organisational (dis)trust as having significant influence on whether a teleworker exercises connectivity agency, or whether attempts to do so fail altogether.

Whilst we have a comprehensive understanding of types of connectivity agency behaviours, it is unclear how one’s agency may be influenced by contextual factors. The originality and key contribution of our study is in enriching our understanding of connectivity agency to appreciate it as a dynamic phenomenon that is shaped by various contextual factors. This presents a variety of important insights for professionals leading, implementing or partaking in distributed work.

Drawing from the human resource management (HRM) literature and framed with self-determination theory, this article seeks to investigate the impact of a hybrid system of HRM, characterized by the integration of practices from high-involvement work systems (HIWS) and high-compliance work systems (HCWS), on employee well-being in China.

We hypothesize there is a positive relationship between the hybrid system and employee well-being, mediated by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs as proposed by self-determination theory. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a cross-sectional survey involving 337 employees from both an agricultural company and a bank in China.

Our dataset provides support for the hypotheses, indicating that hybrid human resource (HR) systems positively relate to employee well-being, with a positive association with work engagement and a negative association with emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, our findings reveal that this relationship is mediated by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

This paper contributes to the HRM literature in three significant ways. First, it explores the hybrid HRM system, which integrates high-involvement work systems (HIWS) and high-compliance work systems (HCWS), enhancing the theorization of HRM in a more comprehensive manner. Second, it utilizes self-determination theory (SDT) to illuminate the underlying mechanisms connecting hybrid HRM to employee well-being – a topic that has received limited attention in prior research. Lastly, we operationalize employee well-being by examining both work engagement and emotional exhaustion, thereby offering a comprehensive understanding of its multidimensional nature.

The current landscape of management scholarship faces criticism for prioritising theoretical development over practical relevance, leading to a disconnect between academic research and industry practices or applications. By exploring Pavitt’s work, the authors aim to highlight the importance of contextual understanding in innovation processes and to advocate for recognising diverse scholarly contributions that challenge established norms. A pragmatic theorist and mentor to a whole generation of innovation science and policy scholars worldwide, especially in Europe, Keith Pavitt left a legacy that is insufficiently acknowledged. Ultimately, this paper seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to defend an innovation management that is responsive to contemporary organisational challenges.

The authors review the most relevant works by Keith Pavitt as a practitioner and as a “pragmatic theorist” and his network of author relationships, including all papers, special issues and reports published after his passing. Then, the authors discuss how those seminal papers or reports have been used and could be used in the future. This paper argues for a balanced approach that integrates rigorous academic inquiry with practical insights, emphasising the contributions of Keith Pavitt as a pioneering figure in Innovation-as-Practice.

The authors highlight that much of the current understanding of science and policy of innovation can be traced back to Pavitt’s work and that many future debates about technology could be enhanced by considering his findings. He has the stature of a parental figure, and his taxonomy, based on practice and empirical data, much like other management analysis tools, is widely used but not widely recognised yet, especially by industry managers or employees.

This paper sheds new light on an unacknowledged transdisciplinary pioneer, whose work is situated at the intersection of theory and praxis in Innovation Management: Keith Pavitt. It also advocates for a more transdisciplinary and circumstantial historical approach to management scholars.

This article explores how waste collection venture founders in an uncertain sub-Saharan African environment perceive and access resources. More particularly, it investigates why, even in a similar context, different types of resource-mobilizing practices can be observed among venture founders and how these different practices can be related to founders’ diverging perceptions of resource accessibility.

The study compares seven waste collection ventures in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a particularly uncertain market with shifting public regulation. The comparative case study analysis relies on interviews with venture founders, staff members and sector experts, as well as observations and archival data.

The findings suggest that the diverse approaches to resource accessibility can be associated with different ways in which venture founders perceive three key dimensions: environmental uncertainty (which is not necessarily seen as negative), the venture’s mission (for-profit or not-for-profit) and the founders’ self-perceptions. Three “perception-practice” patterns are identified, which illuminate different avenues for waste collection venture founders to access resources and position themselves in between local traditions and international influences.

The findings contribute to refining the understanding of the links between entrepreneurial perceptions and resource access in uncertain environments, and further illuminate the diversity and complexity of entrepreneurial approaches in sub-Saharan Africa.

The findings of this paper may help waste management entrepreneurs better leverage resources and deal with uncertainty. Moreover, the paper includes recommendations to public authorities in charge of waste policy at the local, national and international levels, urging them to take the diversity of entrepreneurial approaches into consideration and formulate tailored policies to support waste entrepreneurs in accessing the resources they need.

Informing the diversity of waste management practices and their effectiveness directly contributes to supporting small venture development and dealing with pollution, thereby addressing, respectively, sustainable development goals 8 (“Economic development and growth”) and 15 (“Life on land”).

As entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa remains relatively underexplored in comparison with Western contexts, in particular from the perspective of entrepreneurial perceptions, the originality of this article is to connect resource access practices with the different perceptions unfolding in a similar context, thereby shedding light on how such diversity informs the understanding of entrepreneurial practices in uncertain contexts.

While extensive research exists on how positive life circumstances and positive personality traits promote entrepreneurship, there is little research focusing on how negative personal circumstances may potentially breed entrepreneurship. This study aims to build upon the theory of underdog entrepreneurship to examine the effect of challenging life circumstances such as poverty on the development of entrepreneurial traits in underdog entrepreneurs. This research analyzed the effect of risk-taking (RT) on the entrepreneurial success (ES) of underdog entrepreneurs and the role of optimism (OPM) and persistence (P) as mediating variables and poverty as a moderator variable.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 400 micro-finance borrowers of Akhuwat Foundation Pakistan. Akhuwat provides interest-free small loans to the poor segment of society. Preliminary testing of the survey questionnaire with a sample of 35 borrowers of Akhuwat Foundation in Lahore city was conducted before data collection. Data was collected from four randomly selected branches in Lahore city.

The authors found that OPM and P significantly mediate the relationship between RT and ES. In addition, the authors analyzed the moderating effect of poverty on the relationship between OPM and ES and found a negative moderating effect. A strong positive moderating effect of poverty was found on the relationship between P and ES. The results of multi-group analysis show that successful and unsuccessful underdog entrepreneurs differ in their RT propensity, which is significantly mediated by OPM and P.

This study provides empirical evidence on entrepreneurial traits and success of poor entrepreneur in an emerging economy. This work is original and has not been submitted elsewhere.

Learning capability improves knowledge resources fosters innovative capabilities and firm competitiveness. The study aims to examine the human resource management (HRM) practice and employee creativity relationship using organizational learning capability (OLC) as a mediating variable.

Data were collected from 67 small-sized and 96 medium-sized firms. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to establish construct validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses.

The results show that performance appraisal and employee creativity were positively related. Employee participation and employee creativity were positively related. Compensation and employee creativity were nonsignificantly related. OLC mediates the performance appraisal and employee creativity relationship. Similarly, OLC mediates the employee participation and employee creativity relationship. However, OLC did not mediate the compensation and employee creativity relationship.

Due to the research’s SME focus and cross-sectional data, the finding’s generalizability will be constrained.

The findings of the study would be useful to policymakers, stakeholders and management of SMEs in developing a supportive learning climate that promotes experiential and continuous learning cultures to ensure strategic capabilities, sustainable competitive advantage and innovativeness.

The study contributes to the extant literature on OLC, HRM practices and employee creativity by empirically evidencing that OLC mediates the performance appraisal, employee participation and employee creativity relationship.

In this paper, we aim to test the usefulness and contribute to the further development of analytical frameworks that guide research into integrated health and social care initiatives.

This study uses case studies based in decentralised administrative areas within the New South Wales state health system using (1) the Innovative Policy Supports for Integrated Health and Social Care Programs Framework, (2) the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and (3) the Framework on the Emergence and Effectiveness of Global Health Networks to assess the quality of international policies and/or strategies and integrated health and social care networks.

This study facilitates and advances integrated health and social care knowledge, moving from the study of local initiatives to a higher-level taxonomy of integrated care initiatives and exploring the emergence and effectiveness of global integrated care knowledge exchange networks. This paper proposes the use of three different frameworks to assess enhancement of the integrated health and social care using an array of multi-level innovation efforts as case studies.

This paper highlights the need for further research, and additional supports for formulating a single unified integrated health and social care framework that can assess innovations at multiple levels beyond local settings.

A stronger partnership with key stakeholders to enhance integrated health and social care research capabilities would be a feasible way to increase care and research capabilities in all sectors.

Health and social care clinicians, consumer representatives, service managers, policymakers and network knowledge partners must co-design a unified framework that better reflects the large multi-level agenda for integrated health and social care system change.

This novel study examines the level of integration of local space-based health and social care interventions, develops a taxonomy of local health district and/or primary care network integrated care initiatives to locate the “local” within a broader policy context and evaluates the quality of international policies and/or strategies and integrated health and social care networks.

This study aims to investigate how two different types of brand-to-brand dialogues – “roasting” versus “toasting” – impact consumers’ brand perceptions, particularly perceived entertainment, and influence brand attitudes.

The research design comprises four studies. The preliminary study involves Web scraping to gauge consumer perception about the two communication approaches followed by two well-known brands. Study 1 involves an online experiment to compare these communication types within each brand tested in the pilot study and examines the mediation effect of perceived entertainment. Study 2, also an online experiment, investigates the role of message neutralization, demonstrating that “roasting” can be acceptable when the humor is neutralized. Study 3 further tests the effects of neutralized “roasting” at different levels of brand familiarity and personality.

Roasting can lead to more favorable consumer perceptions than toasting. The effect can be explained by roasting’s higher level of perceived entertainment. However, this positive outcome is contingent on the successful neutralization of the aggressive humor in the “roasting” messages. When it comes to brand familiarity and personality, familiar brands benefit more from neutralized “roasting,” whereas brand personality does not have a strong influence.

The findings suggest that “roasting” can be effective when messages are neutralized, and “toasting” works best when spontaneous and genuine. It highlights how brand familiarity and personality influence consumer reactions, thus, offering strategic insights for both established and lesser-known brands. The study also prompts further research to examine other brand traits, cultural factors and behavioral dimensions in brand-to-brand dialogue, signifying the complexity and richness of this growing research area.

This study advises lesser-known brands to adopt “toasting” strategies to build a positive image, while established brands can try “roasting,” ensuring message neutrality to avoid negativity. The research emphasizes the role of brand familiarity and personality in shaping brand dialogues. Marketers must consider these to make humor strategies effective and bolster positive brand image.

This research uniquely examines message neutralization through contextual cues as a strategy brands can use to aid their sensitive dialogues with others on social media. The findings provide new insights into how brands can use different types of messages in digital communications to attract consumers and ensure positive reception, offering valuable guidance for academics and practitioners in brand-to-brand dialogue.

This paper aims to explore three operations and supply chain management (OSCM) approaches for meeting the 2 °C targets to counteract climate change: adaptation (adjusting to climatic impacts); mitigation (innovating towards low-carbon practices); and carbon-removing negative emissions technologies (NETs). We suggest that adaptation nor mitigation may be enough to meet the current climate targets, thus calling for NETs, resulting in the following question: How can operations and supply chains be reconceptualized for NETs?

We draw on the sustainable supply chain and transitions discourses along with interview data involving 125 experts gathered from a broad research project focused on geoengineering and NETs. We analyze three case studies of emerging NETs (biochar, direct air carbon capture and storage and ocean alkalinity enhancement), leading to propositions on the link between OSCM and NETs.

Although some NETs are promising, there remains considerable variance and uncertainty over supply chain configurations, efficacy, social acceptability and potential risks of unintended detrimental consequences. We introduce the concept of transformative OSCM, which encompasses policy interventions to foster the emergence of new technologies in industry sectors driven by social mandates but lack clear commercial incentives.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first that studies NETs from an OSCM perspective. It suggests a pathway toward new industry structures and policy support to effectively tackle climate change through carbon removal.