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Drawing on the socioemotional selectivity theory and the volunteerism literature, this study aims to examine the influence of empathy, altruism and opportunity recognition, on social entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) of people who have retired from a full-time career. Furthermore, the study examines whether the above-mentioned relationships are mediated by moral obligation.

A set of hypotheses is tested by applying partial least squares structural equation modelling on a survey sample of 227 retirees in Oman, who had participated in an entrepreneurial leadership training after retirement. Using SmartPLS software, the path model is tested through bootstrapping.

The findings suggest that altruism and opportunity recognition do not have a direct relationship with SEI, however, they are significant only when mediated through moral obligation. Nevertheless, empathy has a significant direct association with SEI, and an indirect relationship through moral obligation.

The findings of this study demonstrate that to develop intentions to indulge in social entrepreneurship, among retirees who are approaching their senior years, the focus should be on driving their sense of moral obligation to society. Hence, policymakers and authorities connected to social wellbeing goals can fine-tune their initiatives, such as training, by emphasizing on moral obligation to address social issues through social entrepreneurship.

The novelty of this study is twofold. Firstly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it seems to be among the first empirical study that is at the crossroads of the senior entrepreneurship and the social entrepreneurship literature. Secondly, this study fills a gap in the extant literature by deploying the socioemotional selectivity theory to examine the antecedents of SEI of people who have retired from full-time employment in their early to late senior years.

The authors intended to find out what motivates employees at the workplace. For this purpose, the authors examined family motivation and intrinsic motivation influences over work attitudes such as organizational citizenship behavior (individual) and affective commitment.

In the current research, the authors adopted time-lagged approach to collect a total of 352 responses from managers in the hospitality sector. This approach was adopted to avoid common method issues related to survey research.

The findings suggest positive association of family motivation with intrinsic motivation, affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (individual). The authors also found intrinsic motivation positively related to affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (individual). The findings also found statistical support pertaining to the mediating role of intrinsic motivation on family motivation's positive relationship with affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (individual).

Considering important role of family motivation, the authors ask managers to think through ways that could help employees feel better about their family's wellbeing. The authors also suggest organizations upsurge intrinsic motivation of their employees by engaging them in decision-making process, allow employees to craft their jobs because through these a higher level of organizational citizenship behavior for individuals and affective commitment could be generated.

The authors extend the core assumption of self-determination theory that work motivation (intrinsic in specific) is autonomously determined, deeply rooted within individuals, and gratifying. It works on the pleasure principle and mirrors a hedonic standpoint. In such a situation, employees work merely based on their interest and joy; they focus and enjoy the process.

The present study attempts to extend our understanding of the application of self-determination theory. The study examines the mediating role of self-efficacy and self-esteem in the relationship between family motivation and academic performance.

Through adopting a survey questionnaire, we collected 329 responses from management educators (faculty members teaching in business schools) from various universities.

The data were analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling technique. All the hypothesized relationships found empirical support, indicating that family motivation is directly related to academic performance. Furthermore, self-efficacy and self-esteem mediate this direct relationship.

The paper forwards robust theoretical and practical implications and underlines important directions for future researchers. The study makes novel contributions to relationships inviting for empirical attention.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness in the oil and gas sector of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

This paper is a conceptual evaluation of literature.

The extant body of research on both entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness is based on quantitative studies without previous systematic, exhaustive and comprehensive grounded theory-based theorizing processes rooted in qualitative approaches. This accounts for inconsistencies and controversies of findings reported in the field.

The grounded theory-based approach advocated by this paper is likely to generate a more precise estimation of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, competitive aggressiveness and firm performance. Consequently, an accurate understanding of the interplay between these factors can empower managers to make finely-tuned strategic decisions, achieve sustainable competitive advantage and optimally adapt to dynamic and unforeseen environments.

The paper reports on important limitations of the existing literature indicating that current findings may be an artifact of studying a small number of industries.

The purpose of this paper is to depict how entrepreneurs improve community vitality in the economic, social and environmental dimensions. The paper joins the conversation of business spirituality as the study participants were Sri Lankan Buddhist entrepreneurs from the emerging venture context (i.e. from enterprises which are less than 1–10 years old). The aim of the paper is to introduce spiritually informed entrepreneurial actions, thus contributing to a better understanding of entrepreneurial impact on communities.

The paper involves a qualitative, interpretivist research design. Data was collected by conducting 28 semi-structured interviews with 18 Sri Lankan Buddhist entrepreneurs. Research participants were selected from diverse business sectors. The research applied inductive thematic analysis for structuring and interpreting data.

For Sri Lankan Buddhist entrepreneurs, improving community vitality is an essential altruistic goal of their business agenda. During the operations of their ventures, this altruistic goal is translated into altruistic actions that improve the economic, social and environmental vitalities of communities. Research findings highlight that in the case of Sri Lankan Buddhist entrepreneurs, altruistic actions are informed by compassion, which is a fundamental value in the Buddhist religion. Drawing on the findings, an integrated model of community vitality, which describes the role of compassion and the mechanisms of entrepreneurial actions in a Buddhist setting was developed inductively.

Studying entrepreneurial actions to focus on the motivations behind improving community vitality is a new research topic. The paper provides valuable knowledge on business spirituality regarding the compassionate motivations of Buddhist entrepreneurs. The integrated model of community vitality, which describes the mechanisms of entrepreneurial actions to improve community vitality in a Buddhist setting could be an essential compass not only to entrepreneurs but also research scholars in the field of business spirituality.

We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated socio-cultural norms.

We use the case of a local entrepreneurial initiative launched in the Atlas region of Morocco, the Empowering Women in the Atlas Initiative (EWA). We collected data through 51 semi-structured interviews of women entrepreneurs in three cooperatives which exploit the natural resources of their region to establish a social venture. Our data are longitudinal as they were collected at two time periods: before and after the initiative.

The findings of this study suggest that local entrepreneurial initiatives can have a significant impact on rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. The improved perception of empowerment has not only helped them develop capacities to leverage the business opportunities linked to the natural resources of their region, but it has also increased their status and role within their family and community.

We make recommendations for policymakers to encourage this type of initiative to compensate for the absence of supporting policies geared toward women.

Our study is one of the first to look at empowerment as a policy instrument to develop women entrepreneurial activities in rural areas of developing countries. Our paper uses a unique hierarchical perspective and a multidimensional framework for analyzing social cooperative ventures and rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. Our paper unravels interesting insights for women entrepreneurs’ narration strategies.

The purpose of this study is to explore Chinese women’s pursuit of entrepreneurship as a career choice through the intersectional lens of gender and culture. The study aims to identify factors that influenced Chinese women’s decisions to pursue entrepreneurship.

In this exploratory qualitative study, we conducted qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured and one-on-one interviews with 16 Chinese women entrepreneurs.

We identified various factors that influenced Chinese women’s career choice of entrepreneurship. The factors include entrepreneurial attributes, rapid economic growth, societal and cultural influences, the dual role of family influences and strategic entrepreneurship.

Our study provides a contextualized understanding of the experience of Chinese women’s entrepreneurship career choices. It enriches the existing literature on career choices within the career development for Chinese women entrepreneurs. By applying social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to a specific cultural and gendered setting, we proposed the social cognitive women’s entrepreneurial career theory, which offers fresh insights into the interplay of personal, contextual and behavioral dimensions in shaping Chinese women’s entrepreneurial career choices.

When the repercussions of COVID-19 were being absorbed by the world, the higher educational institutions (HEIs) were conceiving of strategies to run educational institutions on remote basis too, including the challenges linked with the teaching–learning as well as the management and other departmental needs. Leaning itself on the teaching–learning tectonic shifts amid the COVID-19 climes, the study reviews the status of “readiness” of the HEIs in Oman while bearing this in mind that the usage of information and communications technology (ICT) for distance learning and conventional learning has been considered as one of the parameters to judge the “quality” of the HEIs in Oman.

Documentary analysis alongside an in-depth reading of the quality audit reports sourced from the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, which are publicly accessible are being referred for driving home the arguments in the study.

The study concludes that despite the case being in favor of distance learning from early on, the same doesn’t get reflected in the conclusions derived in the research conducted for assessing the teaching–learning mechanisms during the COVID-19 period. Therefore, the HEIs’ “readiness” in terms of ensuring the smooth transitioning to the remote learning pedagogical arrangements for meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 wasn’t efficacious.

The present study may be followed up with an understanding as to how the HEIs of Oman need to incorporate the perspectives of all the concerned stakeholders for the refurbishment of the teaching–learning process, especially in times of contingencies.

Apart from the policy-makers, the management of the HEIs of Oman needs to appreciate the need to be proactive and appreciative of the inclusion of ICT tools and techniques in the mainstream pedagogical settings.

Notwithstanding the emphasis upon the preparedness and readiness for tackling the challenges posed by the COVID-19 for the HEIs in Oman, no study has attempted to delve into the issue succinctly—the present study fills this gap.

Given the workplace’s reinvention to accommodate the global pandemic’s novel conditions, knowledge hiding (KH) behaviour in knowledge-intensive organisations must be examined from a fresh perspective. In this context, the relationship between workplace ostracism (WO) as KH’s antecedent and quiet quitting (QQ) as its consequence is undertaken via the mediating role of KH behaviour among knowledge workers (KWs).

Through stratified sampling, data from 649 KWs is obtained to test the model. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SMART-PLS 4.0. software establishes a significant influence of WO on KH and QQ. KH significantly mediates the relationship between WO and QQ, highlighting its critical intermediary role PLSPredict evaluates the model’s predictiveness. WO and KH’s effects on QQ are examined using necessity logic by collectively applying PLS-SEM and necessary condition analysis (NCA).

The model wherein WO plays a significant role in increasing KH and QQ, with KH as a partial mediator in the relationship, has high predictive relevance. Moreover, NCA confirms WO as the key predictor variable that provides variance in QQ, followed by KH. The Importance-performance map analysis technique supports the study’s managerial implications.

This study enriches QQ’s emerging literature by empirically identifying its antecedents-WO and KH. Methodologically, this paper gives a model for using PLS-SEM and NCA together in relation to QQ by identifying WO as its necessary condition. Evidence of selected constructs’ interrelationships may help organisations draft leadership programmes to curtail KH and QQ behaviour.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on all facets of education. This led to educational institutions deploying blended and online systems for teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of blended learning in promoting quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The qualitative research design was deployed in this study and enabled the researcher to collect data via in-depth interviews. Twenty-five (25) tertiary institutions accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) were randomly selected to participate in this study. The registrars of the institutions were purposively selected and served as the participants for the study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data collected via the interview. Ethical considerations were adhered to during the study.

The study established that COVID-19 had a devastating effect on tertiary institutions; multiple technological and open-sourced systems were deployed for teaching and learning; blended learning was adopted to augment the traditional face-to-face mode of teaching and learning due to its ease of use, usefulness and accessibility as it was used for quizzes and assignments, accessing lecture notes, among others. Despite these, the deployment of technological and blended systems was met with challenges that somehow affected effective teaching, learning.

The study was limited to 25 tertiary educational institutions in Ghana. It was again limited to the COVID-19 era.

This research aids in understanding the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning and how blended learning is currently deployed and used in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The findings are relevant to policymakers and management of educational institutions as it informs them of the right method and tools to deploy for teaching and learning during pandemics.

As educational institutions globally are dealing with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is prudent to look into how tertiary institutions in Ghana deploy blended learning to facilitate teaching and learning. Thus, this paper is original as it fills the relevant literature gap in terms of scope, setting, methodology and findings.