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1 – 10 of 91This paper aims to introduce a crowd-based method for theorizing. The purpose is not to achieve a scientific theory. On the contrary, the purpose is to achieve a model that may…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce a crowd-based method for theorizing. The purpose is not to achieve a scientific theory. On the contrary, the purpose is to achieve a model that may challenge current scientific theories or lead research in new phenomena.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes a case study of theorizing by using a crowd-based method. The first section of the paper introduces what do the authors know about crowdsourcing, crowd science and the aggregation of non-expert views. The second section details the case study. The third section analyses the aggregation. Finally, the fourth section elaborates the conclusions, limitations and future research.
Findings
This document answers to what extent the crowd-based method produces similar results to theories tested and published by experts.
Research limitations/implications
From a theoretical perspective, this study provides evidence to support the research agenda associated with crowd science. The main limitation of this study is that the crowded research models and the expert research models are compared in terms of the graph. Nevertheless, some academics may argue that theory building is about an academic heritage.
Practical implications
This paper exemplifies how to obtain an expert-level research model by aggregating the views of non-experts.
Social implications
This study is particularly important for institutions with limited access to costly databases, labs and researchers.
Originality/value
Previous research suggested that a collective of individuals may help to conduct all the stages of a research endeavour. Nevertheless, a formal method for theorizing based on the aggregation of non-expert views does not exist. This paper provides the method and evidence of its practical implications.
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Øystein Pedersen Dahlen and Helge Skirbekk
The aim of this article is to explain why there is a higher degree of trust in some countries compared to others – and which are the main historical factors that explain these…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to explain why there is a higher degree of trust in some countries compared to others – and which are the main historical factors that explain these differences. The main focus is on how governments relate to and communicate with its citizens in the times of crises.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on comparative historical sociology with a modernity perspective with a special focus on Norway and Scandinavia. The authors do a parallel demonstration of history to confirm and expand the theories that could explain the high level of trust in these countries. The authors also bring in the Spanish experience in order to testify how governmental reactions affected the different levels of trust.
Findings
Scandinavian governments allowed open communication between different social classes on difficult and important issues, in contrast to Spain in the same period. These two factors therefore expand the understanding of the development of trust: (1) The establishment of the nation state as the organising concept and all-encompassing container of the other institutions (democracy, parliamentarism, trade unions, etc.); (2) The open hand strategy in dealing with deviant opinions, based on democratic compromises and a policing of consent ideology.
Originality/value
The article combines the understanding of the first crisis of modernity and the development of trust and contain a comparative analysis of the development of trust in four different countries. The investigation thus clarifies the correlation between specific historical factors and the levels of trust.
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Forrest C. Lane and Natasha H. Chapman
The social change model of leadership (SCM) is a widely used leadership model in higher education. StrengthsQuest is conceptually similar to the individual values of the SCM in…
Abstract
The social change model of leadership (SCM) is a widely used leadership model in higher education. StrengthsQuest is conceptually similar to the individual values of the SCM in its aim to identify and grow individual talents. This model is based on the idea that individuals perform at higher levels when they build upon their identified talents (Clifton & Harter, 2003). Prior studies have not examined the relationship of hope or one’s belief in their identified StrengthsQuest talents to the individual values of the SCM. This study examines that relationship using the adult-trait hope and strengths self-efficacy scales. The relationship between these constructs along and other predictors of social change capacity were explored using canonical correlation analysis. Strengths self-efficacy, hope, and student engagement were statistically significant (73% of the variability among the individual values of the SCM). Gender, race, and community service were not statistically significant in this study.
Darrin Kass and Christian Grandzol
This study examined the leadership development of MBA students enrolled in an Organizational Behavior course. Students enrolled in either an in-class section or a section that…
Abstract
This study examined the leadership development of MBA students enrolled in an Organizational Behavior course. Students enrolled in either an in-class section or a section that included an intensive, outdoor training component called Leadership on the Edge. Results from Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory (2003) showed that students in the outdoor training section demonstrated greater improvements in leadership practices over the course of the semester. Reflective comments from students in the outdoor section indicated it was a transformative personal experience that is unlikely to be emulated in a classroom. Implications for leadership educators are discussed.
Yeongjoon Yoon and Brad Almond
Despite recent efforts to link religion with job satisfaction, the current state of research lacks the knowledge of why there may be a positive relationship between the two…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite recent efforts to link religion with job satisfaction, the current state of research lacks the knowledge of why there may be a positive relationship between the two variables. This study tries to fill this gap by testing the notion that Christians are more likely to exhibit a higher level of distributive justice perception, which leads to a higher level of job satisfaction. The study also tries to identify Christianity as the moderator in the relationship between distributive justice and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses secondary data. The study analyzes 13,289 employees in 27 countries in the 2010 European Social Survey, which contains information on the levels of distributive justice perceptions and job satisfaction, as well as the religious affiliations of the respondents. The country fixed effect regression analysis was conducted.
Findings
The analyses first reveal that Protestants, compared to non-Protestants, exhibit a higher level of distributive justice perception, which leads to a higher level of job satisfaction. The analyses also demonstrate that the positive relationship between distributive justice perception and job satisfaction is weaker for Protestants than non-Protestants. These relationships, however, were not evident for people affiliated with other denominations of Christianity.
Practical implications
Protestant employees are likely to maintain a higher level of distributive justice perception, and distributive justice perception matters less in shaping their job satisfaction. As a result, organizations may want to focus more on the other aspects of organizational justice, such as procedural and interactional justices in managing protestant employees, if maintaining job satisfaction level is a concern. With many “Christian-based” companies operating and being supported in today’s economy, the findings in this study can be useful to these organizations that are more likely to attract and have Christians as their employees.
Originality/value
The current study provides evidence that employees’ religious affiliation (i.e. Protestantism in this case) can be a predictor of job satisfaction through the mediation of distributive justice perception. It also offers a basis for future studies on employee morale (e.g. job satisfaction and justice perceptions) to consider religious factors. Finally, the findings also identify Protestant affiliation as a moderator in the distributive justice–job satisfaction relationship.
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The purpose of this study is to identify various Russian manifestations on expanding its role in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as shed light on the major obstacles it may face.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify various Russian manifestations on expanding its role in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as shed light on the major obstacles it may face.
Design/methodology/approach
The research paper uses the “national role theory” to analyze the factors that helped in the growing Russian role in sub-Saharan African countries. It assumes that every state seeks to play a particular role, and that role is reflected in its foreign policy, which is known as “role performance,” and this role originates from several sources. On the other hand, this role faces various obstacles, mostly from the external environment, especially the international system’s structure, global values and international obligations, known as “role prescriptions.”
Findings
Despite Russia’s ability to use all its capacities in expanding its role in the African continent, the degree of its influence varied from one field to another. While it was very influential in the military, security, political, diplomatic and technical fields, it is relatively less in the economic and counter-terrorism areas.
Research limitations/implications
This study paves the way for further researches related to international competition over sub-Saharan Africa, whether economically, militarily or politically, in addition to other studies related to potential cooperation opportunities, especially in security and combating terrorism.
Originality/value
This research’s significance stems from using the existing theoretical structure represented in national role theory in analyzing the Russian orientation toward sub-Saharan Africa, giving more attention to the latest developments in Russian strategy, as well as clarifying the major obstacles that may hinder its activities.
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