Bright Owusu Asante, Stephen Prah, Kwabena Nyarko Addai, Benjamin Anang and John N. Ng’ombe
This paper aimed to examine the impacts of agricultural services on welfare of rural farmers in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to examine the impacts of agricultural services on welfare of rural farmers in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from 1431 rural maize farmers, we employ multinomial endogenous switching regression and multivalued inverse probability weighted regression adjustment to assess the impacts.
Findings
Results show that 19.8%, 9.7% and 3.42% of farmers adopted solely irrigation, extension and mechanization, respectively. Furthermore, utilizing a range of agricultural services significantly improves maize yields, gross income and per capita food consumption.
Research limitations/implications
This study recommends strategies that target the adoption of combinations of agricultural services to enhance rural farmers’ welfare in Ghana and other developing countries.
Originality/value
While agricultural services are claimed to improve agricultural production and peasants’ welfare, their impacts are not studied exhaustively. This paper contributes by providing empirical evidence of the impacts of agricultural services on farmers’ welfare.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0745.
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Kadumbri Kriti Randev, Jatinder Kumar Jha and Keerti Shukla
The main aim of this paper is to explore the influence mechanisms of perceived organizational politics (POP) on employee performance (EP). Drawing on the job demands-resources…
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of this paper is to explore the influence mechanisms of perceived organizational politics (POP) on employee performance (EP). Drawing on the job demands-resources theory (JD-R), this paper investigates opportunistic silence (OS) as a mediating factor and job level as a moderating effect in the POP-OS-performance relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s data were collected from 203 employees working in Indian high-power distance organizations (HPDOs), such as the military, police and security forces. Mediation and moderation analysis were conducted using PLS-SEM, and the moderated mediation index was calculated using Hayes PROCESS Macro.
Findings
The results indicate that OS fully mediates the POP-performance relationship – specifically, POP as a job demand activates OS, which acts as an energy/resource depleting mechanism and further deteriorates task performance. Interestingly, the overall negative influence of POP and OS on EP was stronger for employees at lower job levels than those at senior job levels.
Originality/value
This paper offers a unique set of findings that enrich the understanding of factors responsible for employees’ performance in the highly political environments of HPDOs. By using the lens of JD-R theory, this paper draws attention towards the tendency of employees to indulge in self-serving behaviours like OS in politically charged contexts which is detrimental to their performance and may also undermine overall organization’s productivity. Furthermore, this paper also highlights the conditional effects exerted by job level in the unique nexus of POP, OS and EP.
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Our study aimed to verify the role of the digital economy in economic growth in Egypt and the availability of the technological capabilities of the business sector for digital…
Abstract
Purpose
Our study aimed to verify the role of the digital economy in economic growth in Egypt and the availability of the technological capabilities of the business sector for digital transformation, based on the negative impact of the epidemic on all economic sectors in the world in general and Egypt in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
This was verified based on the standard Error correction package modeling (VECM) study and analysis using Xlstat 2023 and EViews 10.
Findings
The results of the study conducted during the period (1996–2022) showed that there is a co-integration relationship in the short and long term between the impact of the digital economy and economic growth. We found a positive, statistically significant relationship between the variables of mobile phone subscriptions and Internet use that had a strong positive effect. At the same time, trade openness hurt economic growth in the short term. In the long run, both mobile phone subscriptions and trade openness had a significant positive effect, and the speed of adjustment toward equilibrium was very severe, estimated at 4.7 years (1/0.21).
Research limitations/implications
The work is limited to the economies of Egypt, which is part of Africa. We suggest conducting further research on evidence from other emerging and developed economies.
Practical implications
The results are of great importance to policymakers in Egypt as an African country, as the estimation results were positive between the digital economy and economic growth in the Egyptian economy, and this is consistent with the endogenous growth model of economic growth, which assumes that knowledge is the main driver of economic growth.
Social implications
The paper documents the importance of the digital economy in boosting economic growth, which impacts social life more than the traditional digital economy, especially in times of crisis.
Originality/value
Based on the existing literature, this paper identified various research gaps. First, no consensus has been reached on the concept of the digital economy, and its index system is inadequate. While existing literature concentrates on examining the influence of ICT on economic development in terms of the number of Internet users, fixed broadband Internet users and mobile subscribers. These measures cannot adequately capture the broader implications of the digital economy. Furthermore, research has largely investigated the significance of digitalization in economic development and reached ambiguous conclusions.
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Albert Kobina Mensah, Apori Samuel Obeng, Prince Addai, Alexander Owusu-Ansah and De-Graft Emmanuel Johnson Owusu-Ansah
Potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in the soil at gold mining sites can endanger the health and sustainability of the local community. We examined the potential health risks…
Abstract
Purpose
Potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in the soil at gold mining sites can endanger the health and sustainability of the local community. We examined the potential health risks associated with the presence of PHEs (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, Sb, Se and Ti) in the soils of active, closed/abandoned/former and profile gold mine sites in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
We collected 102 soil samples from these mine sites, analysed them for their total element contents and calculated the geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor and pollution load index (PLI) (Igeo). We calculated the risks to human health by utilizing the hazard index (HI) and hazard quotient (HQ) for adult males, adult females and children who may ingest contaminated soil particles.
Findings
The average total Cd concentration in the soils was above the global average of 0.2 mg/kg for abandoned (2.86 mg/kg), active (3.93 mg/kg) and profile (4.04 mg/kg) areas. Mercury was detected at elevated concentrations in the soil of active mines (0.92 mg/kg), profiles (0.89 mg/kg) and abandoned mines (0.87 mg/kg). In the active, abandoned and profile soils, titanium concentrations were 14.18, 6.74 and 4.82 mg/kg, respectively, in several folds above the global average of 0.57 mg/kg. The majority of the sites were contaminated with Cd, Hg and Ti based on the calculated PLI values (active = 2.04, abandoned = 1.77 and profile = 2.7). Cadmium, mercury, lead and titanium in mine spoils were found to be correlated with aluminium, iron, manganese, pH, total carbon, clay content and phosphorus in a multivariate analysis using correlation and principal component analysis.
Research limitations/implications
Both natural and anthropogenic processes contributed to the elevated metal contents in the mining sites, as indicated by the investigation’s results. The children’s hazard index values exceeded the threshold of 1.0, indicating the presence of non-carcinogenic risks.
Practical implications
Green space technology (e.g. revegetation) may thus be critical for preserving public health and reviving the ecological integrity of the contaminated sites.
Originality/value
This study highlights health risks to local communities in southwest Ghana by investigating the presence of potentially harmful elements in soils from gold mining sites for the first time. It assesses non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks using a methodology recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency for soil-to-human health risk assessment, especially for children. The study highlights how contamination has been found, making green space technology essential for preserving ecological integrity and protecting public health. The inclusion of geospatial distribution mapping of PTEs offers a visual depiction of the spread of contamination at both active and closed mining sites.
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Mohammad M. Taamneh, Manaf Al-Okaily, Jamal Daoud Abudoleh, Rokaya Albdareen and Abdallah M. Taamneh
The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between green human resource management (GHRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). In addition, this study also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between green human resource management (GHRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). In addition, this study also investigates how the impact of GHRM varies depending on the extent of transformational leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a quantitative approach, the sample consists of 376 employees who hold leadership positions in the academic body and those who work in human resources units at universities who won the Web Metric Award.
Findings
Results have shown that all GHRM practices were found to have a significant and positive effect on CSR. In addition, the findings revealed that transformational leadership positively moderates the relationship between GHRM and CSR.
Originality/value
The findings of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence of the positive relationship between GHRM practices, transformational leadership and CSR performance. In addition, the study highlights the moderating influence of transformational leadership on the relationship between GHRM and CSR, suggesting that transformational leadership can increase the efficacy of GHRM practices in promoting CSR outcomes.
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Christos Anagnostopoulos, Mohammed Yaqot, Dimitrios Kolyperas and Simon Chadwick
There has been a noticeable increase in review studies exploring the relationship between sport and sustainability; however, these studies significantly overlook the marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been a noticeable increase in review studies exploring the relationship between sport and sustainability; however, these studies significantly overlook the marketing function, creating a critical gap in understanding how sustainable practices can be promoted within the sports industry. The purpose of this study is to build a research agenda of the sport–sustainability domain within the marketing field by using an integrated bibliometric and unsupervised machine learning approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric analysis, along with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for topic modeling, enabled us to identify key trends and themes in the sport–sustainability domain. The study uses the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases to extract a final dataset of 929 texts (titles, abstracts and keywords) from published research on sport–sustainability domain within the marketing field.
Findings
We decipher the key trends in the literature and segregate them into four broad topics – places, consumers, markets and strategies – to enhance the understanding of this field of inquiry. This study is the first in the sport–sustainability domain to use this integrated approach to review the literature, and the findings lay the groundwork for future research.
Originality/value
This study uses a combined methodology thereby offering distinct advantages over other review approaches.
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Arpit Sharma, Benjamin P. Dean and James Bezjian
The objective of this study is to address this central question: “What role do ICTs play in reducing poverty?”
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to address this central question: “What role do ICTs play in reducing poverty?”
Design/methodology/approach
First, in this study, we defined poverty in terms of its roots within health, economic development and education. Then, we conducted a systematic review of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) literature. From our analysis, we proposed a series of subsidiary questions and in-depth answers about the impact of ICTs on alleviating health-related, economic and educational causes of poverty.
Findings
This study observed positive effects of ICTs on healthcare, economic and educational dynamics and concluded that the development of more advanced infrastructure and greater access to such technology can amplify that impact.
Originality/value
This article explains how applications of ICT across sectors can substantially enhance quality of life and give people an opportunity to take control of their health-related, economic and educational futures. This study uniquely affords an integrative analysis of research and new thought about how to integrate key ICTs for more effective initiatives and investments to reduce poverty.
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Wanying Guo, Heyun Bao, Jianfeng Cao and Yiping Zhou
The symmetry error generated in the machining process of herringbone gears will destroy the stability of the transmission system. The purpose of this paper is to establish a…
Abstract
Purpose
The symmetry error generated in the machining process of herringbone gears will destroy the stability of the transmission system. The purpose of this paper is to establish a symmetry error measurement model of herringbone gear based on spiral measurement method, and to evaluate the transmission accuracy of herringbone gear based on the measured symmetry error.
Design/methodology/approach
A symmetry error measurement model of herringbone gear based on spiral measurement method is proposed. The measurement method is verified by three coordinate measuring instrument. The transmission error analysis model of herringbone gear is established. The influence of speed and load on it is analyzed.
Findings
At the same speed, when the load increases from 100 N·m to 500 N·m, the transmission error increases and the transmission accuracy of the system decreases. Under the same load, the speed is increased from 100 rpm to 500 rpm, which has little effect on the transmission error.
Originality/value
The measurement method and analysis model used in this paper provide reference value and significance for the measurement and analysis of symmetry error.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-09-2024-0350/
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Huynh Quang Canh Trinh, Minh Anh Nguyen, Thi Thanh Truc Dau, Thi Tam Nhu Tai Cao and Trinh Thuy Anh Vo
This study empirically tests the influence of key elements on intent to use electronic (E)-ticket through the “Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR)” framework and structural equation…
Abstract
This study empirically tests the influence of key elements on intent to use electronic (E)-ticket through the “Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR)” framework and structural equation model. Results highlight factors such as E-trust Technology, Ease of Use, E-satisfaction, Intention to Purchase E-ticket, Price Perception, and Usefulness; the study comprehensively analyzes the factors influencing the decision-making process of consumers when it comes to purchasing E-tickets. The research employs a hypothesis-driven approach and gathers survey results from 408 observants to find out the intention of consumers to use E-tickets for using transportation services, which help transportation providers understand the importance of its platform to benefit customers who are willing to change their perceptions from paper tickets to E-tickets, the reason customers buying E-ticket rather than paper ticket while using digitalization to help firms control their cost and building internal legitimacy by better managing their internal stakeholder.
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Trang N.T. Ho, Dat Nguyen, Tu Le, Hang Thanh Nguyen and Son Tran
This study aims to investigate whether the changes in gender composition of bank board affects Vietnamese bank stability efficiency.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether the changes in gender composition of bank board affects Vietnamese bank stability efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
This research covers a panel of 27 commercial banks in Vietnam over a 14-year period from 2007 to 2020. The two-step system generalized method of moments is used to estimate the gender diversity–Vietnamese bank stability efficiency nexus.
Findings
The authors find that a greater degree of board gender diversification enhances bank stability efficiency and reduces bank risk-taking in Vietnam. The relationship between gender diversity and the stability efficiency of Vietnamese banks is still valid under the influence of regulatory capital sufficiency and during the financial crisis. These findings are robust to alternative proxies for risk indicators and consistent with the perspectives of stakeholder and behavior theory.
Originality/value
Although this research revisits the relationship between gender diversity and bank risk-taking, it is the first attempt to explore the role of women on board in enhancing the stability efficiency of banks, using the stochastic frontier approach. These findings shed light on the function of gender diversity as a governance instrument for mitigating risk in an emerging market context.