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1 – 9 of 9Margaret Hodgins, Sarah MacCurtain and Patricia Mannix-McNamara
Bullying affects at least one-third of the workers through either direct exposure or witnessing, both of which lead to compromised health, and as a result, reduced organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Bullying affects at least one-third of the workers through either direct exposure or witnessing, both of which lead to compromised health, and as a result, reduced organizational effectiveness or productivity. However, there is very little evidence that organisations provide effective protection from bullying, and in fact, the converse appears to the case. The purpose of this paper to explore the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of the problem. Such an approach moves away from the specific practice of identifying “bullying” that typically engages targets and perpetrators in a dance that is really just around the edges (Sullivan, 2008) of a larger problem; a culture that permits the abuse of power and ill-treatment of workers, in both practices and through organisational politics.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper elucidates key problems with organisational response as identified in the literature and critically examines weak organisational response to workplace bullying using the power theory, arguing that while overt approaches to addressing bullying appear to be underpinned by a simplistic, functionalist understanding of power, practices on the ground are better explained by more sophisticated “second-dimension” theorists.
Findings
There is a need for organisations to move beyond the current individualistic understanding of bullying towards a more nuanced understanding of how anti-bullying policies and procedures are themselves an exercise in institutional power protecting and reinforcing dominant power structures.
Research limitations/implications
The literature from which this paper is drawn is limited to studies published in English.
Practical implications
The authors advocate a realistic assessment of the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of workplace bullying, as a way forward to plan appropriate intervention.
Social implications
Workplace bullying is problematic for organisations at several levels, and therefore for society.
Originality/value
That power is relevant to workplace bullying has been apparent since the work of Brodsky in 1976 and Einarsen's early work, this paper builds on a the more nuanced work of McKay (2014), D'Cruz and Noronha (2009), Liefooghe and MacDavey's (2010) and Hutchinson et al. (2010), exploring the organisational response to the raising of bullying issues by individual employees as an exercise of power.
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Andrzej Krzysztof Kozminski, Anna Katarzyna Baczyńska, Ilona Skoczeń and Pawel Korzynski
The main purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness, with constraints as a mediating variable, and to introduce the main…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness, with constraints as a mediating variable, and to introduce the main assumptions of the Bounded Leadership Model (BLM).
Design/methodology/approach
The total sample included 242 leaders in a top managerial position. Data were collected directly from leaders via self-reports. In total, five hypotheses were formed which related to the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness and the role of constraints. Hypotheses were tested by analysing several regression models and mediation effects. Moreover, internal consistency and construct validity were assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and assessing the intercorrelations between study variables.
Findings
The study results demonstrate that leader’s competencies are positively related to leadership effectiveness. The authors also found an indirect effect of leadership competencies on effectiveness via constraints. Overall, it can be concluded that the scales included in the BLM have satisfactory reliability and validity indicators.
Practical implications
The paper examined the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness with constraints as a mediator. Moreover, it introduces the BLM which takes a broader view on leadership and includes variables that seem to play an important role in leaders’ adjustment and success. These findings can be applied in different training processes and also in assessment and development centres to serve as a facilitator in the process of enhancing leadership competencies and effectiveness and in overcoming leadership constraints.
Originality/value
The study overcomes previous research limitations because it offers a selection of leadership competencies that play an important role in leadership effectiveness, as well as may serve as a potential facilitator in the process of overcoming individual constraints. This knowledge can be used for future research and practical purposes.
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Tiina Putkuri, Anna S. Sarvasmaa, Mari Lahti, Camilla Laaksonen and Anna Axelin
This study aims to evaluate the participation and satisfaction of learners with the brief “Mental health promotion in school health care” e-learning course, and to describe…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the participation and satisfaction of learners with the brief “Mental health promotion in school health care” e-learning course, and to describe factors related to their participation and satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A convergent mixed-method study with a descriptive, posttest-only design was conducted in Finland. Quantitative data was collected from the learning portal data and via an electronic feedback questionnaire and qualitative data in four focus group discussions.
Findings
The three modules of the course were opened altogether 12,922 times during the 21 months period. The identified factors influencing participation within the course were: favorite methods attracting attention, the relevance of additional information and postprocessing boosting diligence. The learners’ satisfaction with the course was high. The factors identified for improving satisfaction were: filling gaps in earlier education, clear and concise structure and content, inspiring and interesting design and suitability for clinical use. In addition to the primary target group (school nurses), the course was well-participated and evaluated as satisfying among other health and social care professionals as well as undergraduate students.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates demand for brief, fully online mental health trainings among school nurses, but also among other health and social care professionals and students. The results indicate that learners perceive such training as beneficial. This paper also presents a novel training intervention and its pedagogical base.
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Anna Nirkow and Saeid Abbasian
This study aims to empirically investigate solo travel behavior, comparing decision-making, destination choice, motivations, perceived experiences and constraints between the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically investigate solo travel behavior, comparing decision-making, destination choice, motivations, perceived experiences and constraints between the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic eras.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines quantitative and qualitative data to enhance reliability and flexibility. An online survey attracted 250 respondents, providing demographic data and pandemic-related insights, complemented by eight in-depth interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to extract key findings on motivations, constraints and destination choices.
Findings
The findings reveal that, pre-pandemic, independence and flexibility were key motivators for solo travel, with safety and budget as significant constraints. During the pandemic, half of the respondents continued solo travel, mainly within Europe, facing constraints related to destination choice and health concerns. Post-pandemic, solo travel interest resurged, emphasizing unchanged motivations but reduced concerns over companionship and planning. The study identifies a “traveling for revenge” trend post-pandemic, showcasing a desire to overcome constraints imposed during the pandemic.
Originality/value
The study contributes original insights into the nuanced changes in solo travel behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a deeper understanding of solo travelers' evolving mindsets. It is one of the few studies to examine the pandemic's impact on solo traveling, providing short-term shifts in motivations and constraints with implications for the travel industry.
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Elina Late, Inés Matres, Anna Sendra and Sanna Kumpulainen
The expanded reuse of images as research data in the social sciences and humanities necessitates the understanding of scholars’ real-life interactions with the type of data. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The expanded reuse of images as research data in the social sciences and humanities necessitates the understanding of scholars’ real-life interactions with the type of data. The aim of this study is to analyse activities constituting image data interactions in social science and humanities research and to provide a model describing the data interaction process.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on interviews with 21 scholars from various academic backgrounds utilising digital and print images collected from external sources as empirical research data. Qualitative content analyses were executed to analyse image data interactions throughout the research process in three task types: contemporary, historical and computational research.
Findings
The findings further develop the task-based information interaction model (Järvelin et al., 2015) originally created to explain the information interaction process. The enhanced model presents five main image data interaction activities: Data gathering, Forming dataset, Working with data, Synthesizing and reporting and Concluding, with various sub-activities. The findings show the variety of image data interactions in different task types.
Originality/value
The developed model contributes to understanding critical points in image data interactions and provides a model for future research analysing research data interactions. The model may also be used, for example, in designing better research services and infrastructures by identifying support needs throughout the research process.
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Piotr Staszkiewicz, Jarosław Horobiowski, Anna Szelągowska and Agnieszka Maryla Strzelecka
The study aims to identify the practical borders of AI legal personality and accountability in human-centric services.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to identify the practical borders of AI legal personality and accountability in human-centric services.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a framework tailored for AI studies, this research analyses structured interview data collected from auditors based in Poland.
Findings
The study identified new constructs to complement the taxonomy of arguments for AI legal personality: cognitive strain, consciousness, cyborg paradox, reasoning replicability, relativism, AI misuse, excessive human effort and substitution.
Research limitations/implications
The insights presented herein are primarily derived from the perspectives of Polish auditors. There is a need for further exploration into the viewpoints of other key stakeholders, such as lawyers, judges and policymakers, across various global contexts.
Practical implications
The findings of this study hold significant potential to guide the formulation of regulatory frameworks tailored to AI applications in human-centric services. The proposed sui generis AI personality institution offers a dynamic and adaptable alternative to conventional legal personality models.
Social implications
The outcomes of this research contribute to the ongoing public discourse on AI’s societal impact. It encourages a balanced assessment of the potential advantages and challenges associated with granting legal personality to AI systems.
Originality/value
This paper advocates for establishing a sui generis AI personality institution alongside a joint accountability model. This dual framework addresses the current uncertainties surrounding human, general AI and super AI characteristics and facilitates the joint accountability of responsible AI entities and their ultimate beneficiaries.
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This paper analyzes the productivity effects of structural capital such as research and development (R&D) and organizational capital (OC). Innovation work also produces…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyzes the productivity effects of structural capital such as research and development (R&D) and organizational capital (OC). Innovation work also produces innovation-labor-biased technical change (IBTC) and knowledge spillovers. Analyses use full register-based dataset of Finnish firms for the period 1994–2014 from Statistics Finland.
Design/methodology/approach
Intangibles are derived from the labor costs of innovation-type occupations using linked employer-employee data. The approach is consistent with National Accounting and offered as one method in OECD (2010) and applied in statistical offices, e.g. in measuring software. The EU 7th framework Innodrive project 2008–2011 extended this method to cover R&D and OC.
Findings
Methodology is implementable at firm-level and offers way to link personnel reporting to intangible assets. The OC-IBTC as well as total resources allocated to OC are relevant for productivity growth. The R&D stock is relatively higher but R&D-IBTC is smaller than OC-IBTC. Public policy should, besides technology policy, account for OC and OC-IBTC and related knowledge spillovers in the industries that are most important among the SMEs (low market-share-firms).
Research limitations/implications
The data are based on remote access to Statistics Finland; the data cannot be disseminated.
Originality/value
Intangible assets are measured from innovation work that encompasses not only R&D work. IBTC is proxied in production function estimation by relative compensations on IA work. The non-competing nature of IAs is captured by IA knowledge spillovers. The sample sizes are much higher than in earlier studies on horizontal knowledge spillovers (such as for SMEs,) thus bringing additional generality to the results.
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Micael Thunberg and Anna Fredriksson
The purpose of this study is to identify how the responsibilities and costs of planning, controlling and executing the material, resource and waste flows are shifted between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify how the responsibilities and costs of planning, controlling and executing the material, resource and waste flows are shifted between actors when introducing a construction logistics setup (CLS) as a product innovation in a construction project, compared to the traditional way of organizing these activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is an analytical conceptual research study which aims to bring new insights into a problem through logical relationship building. Empirical data are gathered in two cases where CLSs are used, through observations and interviews regarding how the activities within the order-to-delivery process are performed. The results have been discussed at workshops with suppliers, installation companies, contractor firms and trade unions.
Findings
The outcome of this study is a model for illustrating how costs and responsibilities are shifted in the construction project and supply chain when a CLS is introduced. The cost shift is dependent on the activity shift that accompanies the services included in the setup.
Practical implications
The practical contribution of this work is twofold. First, this study provides a methodology of how to evaluate the impact of logistics services on the actors in the construction project. Second, this study shows shifts in costs and responsibilities in logistics activities with the introduction of construction logistics services.
Originality/value
The theoretical contributions of the model and this study lie in the inclusion of a multi-actor perspective in total cost modelling in supply chains.
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Oluwafemi Awolesi and Margaret Reams
For over 25 years, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has significantly influenced the US sustainable construction through its leadership in energy and environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
For over 25 years, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has significantly influenced the US sustainable construction through its leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification program. This study aims to delve into how Baton Rouge, Louisiana, fares in green building adoption relative to other US capital cities and regions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study leverages statistical and geospatial analyses of data sourced from the USGBC, among other databases. It scrutinizes Baton Rouge’s LEED criteria performance using the mean percent weighted criteria to pinpoint the LEED criteria most readily achieved. Moreover, unique metrics, such as the certified green building per capita (CGBC), were formulated to facilitate a comparative analysis of green building adoption across various regions.
Findings
Baton Rouge’s CGBC stands at 0.31% (C+), markedly trailing behind the frontrunner, Santa Fe, New Mexico, leading at 3.89% (A+) and in LEED building per capita too. Despite the notable concentration of certified green buildings (CGBs) within Baton Rouge, the city’s green building development appears to be in its infancy. Innovation and design was identified as the most attainable LEED benchmark in Baton Rouge. Additionally, socioeconomic factors, including education and income per capita, were associated with a mild to moderate positive correlation (0.25 = r = 0.36) with the adoption of green building practices across the capitals, while sociocultural infrastructure exhibited a strong positive correlation (r = 0.99).
Practical implications
This study is beneficial to policymakers, urban planners and developers for sustainable urban development and a reference point for subsequent postoccupancy evaluations of CGBs in Baton Rouge and beyond.
Originality/value
This study pioneers the comprehensive analysis of green building adoption rates and probable influencing factors in capital cities in the contiguous US using distinct metrics.
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