Search results

The happy-productive worker hypothesis posits that employee well-being is an important factor in work performance. Educational institutions around the world are facing both internal and external pressures to integrate sustainability into their practices, with the goal of protecting the planet and ultimately boosting profits. This paper explores the potential wider benefits of sustainability, including its relationship with employee well-being and performance, by investigating the influence of organisational sustainability on the happy-productive worker hypothesis.

Educational institution employees from the UAE and USA (n = 199; 66.3% teachers) completed an online questionnaire measuring their well-being, perceptions of their organisations’ environmental sustainability and three self-reported job performance measures (task performance, contextual performance and counter-productive workplace behaviours). Regression and mediation analyses were conducted to test hypothesised relationships.

Both well-being and sustainability were positively associated with work performance. Furthermore, sustainability accounted for additional variance in performance beyond that accounted for by well-being. Sustainability partially mediated the relationship between well-being and performance, providing evidence of the importance of sustainability in the workplace.

This study contributes to an emerging field by investigating the relationship between an organisation’s sustainability and benefits of this for employees in terms of well-being as well as work performance. The findings provide further support for the happy-productive worker hypothesis and also the first evidence that educational institutions’ sustainability can mediate this relationship.

Consumers often face trade-offs between important product attributes. Previous research suggests that individuals tend to prioritize attribute differences that are easily processed and aligned. This paper aims to examine the contexts in which nonalignable attribute differences can positively impact consumers’ perceptions of products.

Four lab experiments were conducted to explore how consumer preferences for superior-alignable versus superior-nonalignable products vary based on purchase occasions, with a specific focus on routine and special occasions.

Consumers tend to prefer superior-nonalignable products on special occasions and superior-alignable products on routine occasions. This is driven by stronger uniqueness motives on special (vs routine) occasions, as consumers associate nonalignable attribute differences more closely with product specialness. The research also explores the moderating roles of consumers’ need for uniqueness (NFU) and psychological ownership. Consumers with higher levels of NFU consistently prefer superior-nonalignable products, regardless of the occasion type. Additionally, when consumers feel psychological ownership of products with superior-alignable attributes, the perceived specialness of these products increases, reducing the influence of occasion type on consumer preferences for attribute alignability.

This research emphasizes the importance of aligning product attribute differences with specific purchase occasions in marketing strategies.

Resource mobilization and technology adoption by small firms are mainly studied separately, although considering them together is crucial for understanding how resources are accessed and mobilized to address uncertainty. Moreover, the authors know little about how small firms pursue new opportunities in a constantly changing environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate how small firms adopt technologies to engage different stakeholders and facilitate the access and mobilization of key resources in the opportunity co-creation process.

This study applied a qualitative case study method and conducted 14 interviews with co-founders or top managers of five small firms in Iran.

The findings reveal how small firms adopt technologies to access and mobilize social, human, psychological and financial resources in a highly uncertain environment to co-create new opportunities.

First, the study applies a cross-sectional approach. Therefore, it does not capture longitudinal aspects that might impact resource mobilization and technology adoption over time. Second, the selected five case firms represent rather successful firms, each of which adopted different technologies to challenge the established structure of the market. That is, this study did not focus on unsuccessful cases that would enrich the theory further.

This study reveals how small firms adopt new technologies to mobilize resources and co-create opportunities in highly uncertain environments. It reveals that small firms employ technology adoption strategies to utilize operant resources and accelerate operand resource mobilization. Active learning plays a critical role in this process.

Environmental dynamics affect all sectors, and retailing is no exception. Scholarships reveal that, in such turbulent times, entrepreneurial characteristics are essential for business. In academic research, entrepreneurial characteristics like entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and entrepreneurial competence (EC) are seldom evaluated for retailers. This study aims to decode the impact of small retailers’ EO and EC on firm business performance (BP). It also traces the mediation effect of EC in the relationship between EO and BP.

The study executed among 740 small retailers is a pioneering work to trace EO’s efficacy via EC on the retailer’s BP. The present research is a primal work in the Indian context. This work redesigns the EC scale to suit the retail context and evaluate its mediation role in the EO and BP relationship.

Examining the mediation model through structural equation modelling (SEM) adds empirical evidence to entrepreneurial value creation (EVC) theory and throws light on the indispensable qualities required for small business retailers. The outcomes of the SEM model portray that there is an association between the EO, EC and BP.

This study, though carried out methodically, it is constrained by the ensuing intricacies. The investigation was limited to the small- and medium-retailers engaged in retailing with a floor space from 500 to 5,000 square feet. All three constructs used in the study are measured using the self-reported perceptual scale, which infuses the subjectivity in the data. Exploring the EO and EC of widely dispersed retailers, examining the entrepreneurial character of large-format independent retailers and evaluating financial performance measures through retailers will add value to the study in future.

The study verified the central role of EC in the intangible resource-reward relationship. Among the five pillars of EVC theory, the role of intention and external finance are not considered in this work. The present work explored the EO and EC of existing retailers, and hence intention is excluded. The study concentrates on small retailers, and the role of external financing is not explored. Mishra and Zachary (2014b) opined that the EVC process should be studied in different context and listed out several prepositions. Considering the role of intention and external financing and studying several prepositions spelt out in the theory in varying contexts will throw more lights on the EVC process.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exclusive promotions in the form of targeted m-coupons and to uncover the potential psychological mechanisms underpinning consumer redemption behaviour.

Three experimental studies were conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of psychological ownership as well as perceived intrusiveness and to examine the moderating effect of the timing of delivery in these relationships.

The findings suggest that consumers demonstrate a higher intention to redeem targeted m-coupons than for untargeted m-coupons. Psychological ownership and perceived intrusiveness act as dual mediators in this relationship. However, delivering m-coupons on special dates helps mitigate the discrepancies in consumer responses between targeted and untargeted m-coupons.

This research contributes to existing literature on targeted promotion by comparing the effectiveness of two types of m-coupons and elucidating the dual mechanisms of psychological ownership and perceived intrusiveness. Furthermore, this study identifies a boundary condition that modifies the positive effects of targeted m-coupons.

The present study aims to explore ethical consumption of Millennials and Generation Z and the effect of eWOM on their purchase intention.

A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was employed to test research hypotheses based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), examining the effects of attitudes and subjective norms. Additionally, the study assessed the impact of product characteristics and consumer awareness of ethical characteristics on purchase intention and eWOM.

Results reveal no significant differences between Millennials and Generation Z regarding purchase intention. However, Generation Z significantly drives the spread of eWOM. Notably, Generation Z's attitudes towards products from socially responsible and environmentally sustainable companies significantly influence eWOM creation, suggesting a potential new research direction.

This study is also subject to some limitations, which the researchers must point out and which may lead to further research. First, it should be emphasized that the study used a convenient sample, but the study is geographically limited in terms of its significance and the generations analyzed. For this reason, the generalization of the results should be done with caution. In addition, as the exogenous independent variables investigated in this study are limited to a number of different factors that influence the consumption of sustainable products, such as the company's reputation, the perceptual ability of the public to distinguish whether the actions of brands actually serve society or whether they are unrelated actions, as well as the personality and socio-cultural background of consumers can be included in future research. In addition, studies can be conducted to identify subgroups with different motivations among both Millennials and Generation Z and diagnose different market segments that could further confirm the findings.

Based on these findings, brands can develop their social network strategy by emphasizing the environmental and social attributes of their products, services, and benefits. It is also important to undertake initiatives linked to strong sustainability practices and information campaigns to form a positive attitude among consumers and strengthen their purchasing behavior. Particular attention should also be paid to the regular control of the effectiveness and impact of the messages to achieve the greatest public involvement.

Brands must focus on developing successful strategies to strengthen employer branding through a positive work experience, the creation of jobs related to sustainability, the correct application of ESG criteria in all departments involved, the adaptation of training programs, and the corresponding promotion of all these practices that lead to positive eWOM to obtain a competitive advantage (Clementino and Perkins 2021).

This study contributes theoretically and practically to the understanding of ethical consumption. It provides valuable insights for brands to enhance their social network strategies by highlighting the environmental and social characteristics of their products. By emphasizing these practices, companies can effectively engage Millennials and Generation Z, leveraging their influence to promote ethical consumption and gain a competitive advantage in the market.

This paper investigates how stockist brand equity is created in the unorganized pharma retail sector in emerging markets despite the absence of any proactive brand-building efforts by distribution firms (stockists). In addition, this study also aims to unravel the sources of stockist brand equity.

Drawing from grounded theory, a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was conducted, and a theoretical saturation approach was used for this purpose. The retailer–stockist (business-to-business [B2B]) relationship in the Indian pharmaceutical market context was used as the study context.

The findings show that in the absence of any brand-building activities, stockists’ sales representatives play an important role in creating stockist brand awareness. In addition, word of mouth from other retailers also plays a minor role. Rational and emotional brand associations which are strong, favorable and unique are created 1) directly by the services provided by stockists, which includes product availability, deliverability, accuracy in billing and batch numbers, credit facilities and discounts, handling issues such as product expiry, and 2) indirectly by the services provided by stockists’ sales representatives which includes their frequency of visits, proactive customer orientation rather than sales orientation, fulfilling commitments and relationship with retailers. The strength of the retailer–stockist (B2B) relationship also depends on retailer-driven factors and other external factors discussed in this study.

Strong stockist brand equity helps build trust and loyalty with pharmacies, ensuring a consistent and timely supply of medicinal products, which will benefit their end consumers or society.

This study identifies the antecedents determining the strength of the retailer–stockist (B2B) relationship, a precursor for establishing retailer-based stockist brand equity in the unorganized sector. This study also highlights the consequences of establishing strong retailer-based stockist brand equity.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of manager conservatism on innovation and capital expenditures especially the moderating role of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak for companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

The present study investigated information about 178 companies in 2014–2022. In this study, the CEO’s signature was a psychological proxy of conservatism. Modified multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the moderating role of COVID-19. The present study also used the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to address endogeneity issues.

The results showed that manager conservatism has a positive and significant effect on capital expenditures, while manager conservatism negatively impacts firm innovation. In addition, COVID-19 significantly strengthens the impact of manager conservatism on capital expenditures and firm innovation. Hypothesis testing based on robustness checks confirmed these results.

This study aims to investigate the impact of manager conservatism, as a personality trait, on capital expenditures and innovation. These aspects have not been thoroughly explored in the existing literature. Additionally, it is important to consider the perceived threat of COVID-19, known to have a greater effect on conservatives. This study seeks to examine the interactive role of manager conservatism and COVID-19 on investment in capital expenditures and innovation. The present findings will not only benefit managers and policymakers in both developing and developed countries but will also provide valuable insights into decision-making processes related to capital expenditures and innovation during critical conditions such as the COVID-19 outbreak.

Work-study programmes aim to support young adults transitioning from tertiary education to work and contribute to enhancing their employability. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the learning experiences of trainees in work-study programmes within the broad field of engineering.

The data gathering procedures used interviews with participants of a specific work-study programme and conducting thematic analyses to identify and understand the motivations of these adults for enrolling in work-study programmes and their associated workplace learning experiences. Fifty-two alumni of electrical and logistics engineering programmes completed 12 months of a separate work-study programme and consented to participate in an hour-long interview. They elaborated upon their work-learn experiences to explicate their work-learn needs and challenges in those interviews.

Findings include workplaces facilitated skills development through providing combinations of work tasks comprising both routine and novel work assignments; challenging circumstances at the workplace provided trainees with opportunities to develop adaptive capacities; and engaging in non-routine work processes fosters integration into the engineering workplace community.

The findings contribute to the existing literature by exemplifying how routine engineering activities are practical affordances through which engineering trainees construct knowledge and dispositions for engaging in challenging, non-routine engineering work. Such experiences are crucial in preparing trainees for advanced roles in logistics or electronic sectors.

Focused feedback, such as mentoring and coaching, is a crucial ingredient for generating the intellectual capital needed for successful venture creation and has become a structural resource offered to entrepreneurs in business incubator/accelerator programs. Yet so far, literature has remained silent on the way that entrepreneurs differ in their engagement with focused feedback in such programs. This study poses the question of how focused feedback engagement shapes cognitive development during value creation (i.e. business opportunity development), aimed at the construction of a taxonomy of such feedback engagement.

Focusing on cognitive learning outcomes, we carried out a qualitative analysis using NVivo to perform content analysis on the logbooks of 70 entrepreneurs engaged in business opportunity development in a highly regarded accelerator program.

Results show that engagement with focused feedback and its effects relate to the state of tangibility of the entrepreneur’s value offer and to the amount of prior entrepreneurial experience. We also develop a promising taxonomy to classify entrepreneurs on their learning needs and outcomes (e.g. procedural versus declarative knowledge).

This study brings together types of human learning (types of knowledge acquired) with types of focused feedback. This connection has been speculated to exist in entrepreneurial settings; this study provides strong initial evidence that argues for more explicit consideration in practice. Adding the intellectual capital perspective further enabled this study to better address implications for practice as well as motivate powerful new directions for research.