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Data is gathered from published sources, informal chats with umbrella buyers and sellers in Alleppey and social media posts.

In Kerala, where monsoons dominate life, umbrellas are more than just a rainy-day essential – they are cultural icons. Enter the fierce, yet friendly rivalry between Popy’s and John’s Umbrella Marts (small and medium enterprises), two homegrown brands that captivated the state for nearly three decades. What began as a simple necessity has turned into an innovation race, with quirky designs such as umbrellas with fans, GPS trackers and even selfie sticks. Behind this playful competition lies a story of family ties, smart marketing and competitive economics. It is only in Kerala that umbrellas transitioned from a commodity to a product. Cousins-turned-business-competitors Joseph and Davis Thayyil have transformed the humble umbrella into a symbol of identity and nostalgia for Malayalis. Their creative strategies not only captured markets but also redefined what an umbrella could be. How Popy’s and John’s umbrellas took advantage of Kerala’s unique monsoon season to drive product differentiation and establish themselves as household names for the last thirty years is a case to be explored.This above is presented as a case that draws data from published sources as well as from Kerala markets using unobtrusive methods.

This case is suited for MBA students specializing in marketing or organization theory and can be adapted for introductory marketing courses (BBA/MBA) focusing on regional branding and marketing mix.

Studies have shown that research is a global innovation’s “engine room.” Therefore, young adult-built environment researchers (YABER), especially in developing countries, need research upskilling and reskilling training for better-integrated outcomes. Evidence shows that research training can improve YABER competencies and proficiencies. In Nigeria, YABER may have had some challenges in training needs. There is a lack of extant literature about the issues facing Nigeria’s YABER upskilling and reskilling training needs. Thus, this study investigated the perceived problems facing YABER and proffered measures to improve their training needs in Nigeria.

The researchers used participants from Edo State, Abuja and Lagos State, Nigeria. This study adopted a qualitative research approach. The researchers accomplished saturation after 40 virtual interviews and adopted a thematic analysis for the primary data.

The research shows that the built environment research refines current and creates new knowledge. The built environment researchers (trainers and trainees) need training but face challenges. Findings clustered measures to improve quality research publications in the built environment through YABER training into government/regulatory agencies-related, higher education institutions-related and researcher-related measures.

The developed framework and thematic network analysis could be used to stimulate YABER training needs and, by extension, stir Nigeria’s higher education institutions regulatory agencies to upgrade requirements for academic staffers, especially published articles, to be compulsorily Scopus/Web of Sciences indexed for promotion exercise. This is the global best practice, and Nigerian scholars cannot be in isolation. It will form part of this study’s implication and revitalise UNSDG 4.

This study investigates whether the disclosure of derivatives is value relevant in emerging markets and evaluates the effects of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis on the value relevance of derivative disclosures.

Panel regression models using sub-samples and a crisis interaction term were applied to a sample of the 200 largest non-financial firms by market capitalization listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) from 2005 to 2017 to assess the consequences of the financial crisis.

The results suggest that the disclosure of derivatives is value relevant in the hitherto understudied context of emerging markets. The 2008/2009 financial crisis had a significant impact on derivatives use and the value relevance of derivatives disclosure by JSE-listed companies.

Companies should reconsider both how they employ derivatives as part of their risk management practices and how they communicate derivatives use to stakeholders in the financial statements. The findings facilitate a comparative analysis across various market contexts by researchers and assist investors in better decision-making. The findings can influence regulatory practices and can help standard setters to review disclosure requirements.

The benefits of corporate hedging were studied from an emerging market perspective, using an original dataset and approach to investigate the effects of international financial volatility on emerging markets. The authors tested whether companies are valued differently, based on their disclosure of the use of derivatives in the financial statements, and the effect of the financial crisis on the value relevance derivatives disclosures.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first is to map and analyse prominent contributions, current dynamics, patterns, gaps and research prospects in the field of workplace incivility (WI); second is to provide a coherent theoretical research framework for future research.

This study adopts a two-step analysis approach by combining bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review to explore the research topic of WI, besides, using multiple methodologies including bibliometric, network and content analyses.

This study found that L. M. Cortina and M. S. Hershcovis are the top two most influential authors among all authors in the sample publications. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology is one of the top-ranking journal that often publishes this topic of articles. USA and The Bowling Green State University are the most influential country and institutions, respectively. Besides, burnout and retention are also common keywords were identified based on keywords co-occurrence map, showing that WI has a major impact on burnout and employee retention. Based on the above analysis, this paper constructed a theoretical research framework of WI.

This paper only draw data from one database—Scopus—which cannot provide broad coverage of the research topic. WI research trends and trajectories may be assessed to enable academics and practitioners better understand the current and future trends and research directions. Future studies in this field might use the findings as a starting point to highlight the nature of the topic.

This study is the first to use an systematic literature review (SLR) to evaluate the association between WI and other organizational behaviour. The study contributions are fourfold, extending the work and overcoming the methodologies of prior research that only focussed on characteristics of incivility in nursing. In addition, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of this topic and provides a comprehensive theoretical research framework for future study.

Research on the living conditions of slum dwellers in the inner cities of developing countries has received much attention. Nevertheless, there is little empirical research on the influence of personal attributes on the poor environmental condition of the slum area. This study aims to examine the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics and the physical condition of the slum environment in the inner city of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Data was collected through the use of questionnaire administration from a household survey of 491 slum dwellers. Systematic random sampling was used in the selection of the respondents. The study used descriptive, factor and multiple regression to analyse the data collected.

The study used descriptive, factor and multiple regression to analyse the data collected. The study reveals an interplay between various socio-economic factors and environmental conditions. The results show that out of ten (10) socio economic variables that were submitted in the regression model, only eight (8) of these variables such as income, household size, occupation, level of education, age, marital status, year of residency and nativity were significant.

The study concluded that despite the fact that the condition of the slum environment is a product of multiple interrelated factors, personal attributes also contribute to the poor environmental condition of the slum area. The study recommended that improving the socio-economic conditions of slum dwellers would lead to improved environmental conditions.

Most studies on the association between the Big Five (BF) personality traits and religiosity have been conducted on western samples. This study aims to explore this association using Egyptian university students.

A sample of Alexandria University undergraduates (n = 1,579) responded to the Arabic Big Five Personality Inventory and a self-rating scale of religiosity.

Men obtained significantly higher mean total scores than did women for extraversion, openness and conscientiousness, whereas women had a significantly higher mean total score than did men for neuroticism. All the correlations between BF and religiosity in men were statistically significant and positive, except for neuroticism and religiosity (non-significant). Among women, all these correlations were statistically significant and positive, except with neuroticism (negative). Principal components analysis extracted two components, which were labeled “Positive personality traits and religiosity” and “Neuroticism versus extraversion” in both sexes. Regression analysis indicated that the predictors of religiosity were conscientiousness and agreeableness among men. For women, the predictors of religiosity were conscientiousness, agreeableness and low neuroticism.

The results in the present Egyptian sample reflect the general pattern observed in the international studies. A potential clinical implication may be to integrate Islamic beliefs and practices in psychotherapeutic procedures among university students.

The next step would be to conduct a longitudinal study using a general population sample with a large age range. Furthermore, the reasons for the importance of religiosity in the life of Muslim participants is a suggested topic for a deep study. On the basis of the importance of religion among Arab participants, a potential clinical implication may be to integrate Islamic beliefs and practices in psychotherapeutic procedures among university students.

The selection of this sample makes the cross-cultural comparison viable. Notwithstanding these sharp differences, the result’s similarities overshadow differences.

The studies on the present subject using Egyptian participants are few, notwithstanding the high mean score of religiosity among them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in countries reacting differently to an ongoing crisis. Latent to this reaction mechanism is the inherent cultural characteristics of each society resulting in differential responses to the epidemic spread. In this study, the moderated moderation role of culture, on information dissemination by media during epidemic recovery-phase has been investigated.

Hofstede’s cultural factors are hypothesized to moderate the moderating effect of free-liberal media on the relationship of COVID-19 recovery rate and human mobility. Panel regression model, using mobility data and recovery rate across 95 countries for a period of 170 days has been preferred to test the hypotheses. The results are further substantiated using factor wise interaction plots and slope difference analysis.

The findings suggest that societies with high power distance and masculinity scores strengthen the impact of media on the relationship between COVID-19 recovery rate and mobility whereas, high individualistic and long-term orientation societies weaken the same effect. However, similar conclusions were not confirmed for uncertainty avoidance. Cross-cultural impact, as elucidated by this study, forms a crucial element in policy formulation on epidemic control by indigenous Governing bodies.

While most of the studies emphasizing on cultural characteristics of a society in an epidemic situation covers the growth phase of infection, This research talks about the recovery-phase of the epidemic and the effect of culture.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0314

In the fast-changing marketing landscape, businesses are becoming more dependent on data-driven methods to obtain a competitive advantage. Proficiency in data engineering is necessary to gather, manage, and evaluate vast volumes of data in an efficient manner. This chapter discusses the crucial role that data architecture plays in the execution of data-driven marketing strategies. It delves into essential elements such as integrating data, change, and storage, highlighting their significance in maximizing marketing efforts. This chapter also addresses the opportunities and challenges associated with information technology (IT) in the marketing domain, stressing the significance of flexible and sustainable solutions. Organizations can maximize the economic significance of their marketing data by comprehending and employing sophisticated data engineering methodologies, which leads to more informed decision-making, better customer experiences (CXs), and, ultimately, enhanced business success.