Geoff Hayward, Eugenia Katartzi, Hubert Ertl and Michael Hoelscher
Neurodivergent employees have atypical needs that require distinctive leadership approaches. In this study, the specific nature of a relationship between neurodivergent employees…
Abstract
Purpose
Neurodivergent employees have atypical needs that require distinctive leadership approaches. In this study, the specific nature of a relationship between neurodivergent employees and their neurotypical leaders is explored through the lens of the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This two-phased qualitative study builds on 12 semi-structured interviews with neurodivergent employees and an unstructured focus group with 15 individuals with professional and/or personal interest in neurodiversity. The researcher spent almost 13 h listening to the lived experiences of research participants concerning neurodiversity and leadership.
Findings
Leaders who exhibit empathy and understanding were noted to provide greater support. The findings also highlight the complexity of neuro-inclusion in the workplace. Specifically, the delicate balance between accommodation and avoiding stigmatization is emphasized, addressing the concerns raised regarding the legal risks associated with neurodivergent inclusion. Additionally, the findings underscore the necessity for leaders to avoid patronizing behaviors while catering to the diverse needs of neurodivergent employees. This underscores the importance of supporting both neurodivergent employees and leaders navigating such challenges.
Practical implications
The findings help establish inclusive and accommodating employee relations practices that conscientiously address the requirements of neurodivergent employees while providing support for those in leadership roles.
Originality/value
This study constitutes a direct answer to recent calls to develop a more nuanced understanding of workplace neurodiversity, with a specific focus on neuro-inclusive leadership. Acknowledging that we still use inappropriate, old tools in new situations that require novel approaches to leadership helps set the agenda for future research in this area.
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Paolo Boccagni, Luis Eduardo PéRez Murcia and Milena Belloni
Emna Mnif, Nahed Zghidi and Anis Jarboui
The potential growth in cryptocurrencies has raised serious ethical and religious issues leading to a new investment rethinking. This paper aims to identify the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
The potential growth in cryptocurrencies has raised serious ethical and religious issues leading to a new investment rethinking. This paper aims to identify the influence of religiosity on cryptocurrency acceptance through an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) model.
Design/methodology/approach
In the first phase, this research develops a conceptual model that extends the theory of the TAM by integrating the religiosity component. In the second phase, the proposed model is tested using search volume queries in daily frequencies from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2022 and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The empirical results demonstrate a significant positive effect of religiosity on the intention to use cryptocurrency, the users' perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEOU). Besides, the authors note that PEOU positively influences the intention. Furthermore, religiosity indirectly affects the intention through the PEOU and positively impacts the intention through the PU. In the same way, PEOU has a considerable indirect effect on the intention through PU.
Practical implications
This study has practical and theoretical contributions by providing insights into the cryptocurrency acceptance factors. In other words, it contributes to the literature by extending TAM models. Practically, it helps managers determine factors affecting the intention to use cryptocurrencies. Therefore, they can adjust their industry according to the suitable characteristics for creating successful projects.
Social implications
Identifying the effect of religiosity on cryptocurrency users' choices and decisions has a social added value as it provides an understanding of the evolution of psychological variants.
Originality/value
The findings emphasize the importance of integrating big data to analyze users' attitudes. Besides, most studies on cryptocurrency acceptance are investigated based on one kind of religion, such as Christianity or Islam. Nevertheless, this paper integrates the effect of five types of faith on the users' intentions.
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Federico Caviggioli, Lucio Lamberti, Paolo Landoni and Paolo Meola
Evidence from previous literature indicates that adopting a new innovative technology has a positive impact on a company’s business performance. Much less work has been carried…
Abstract
Purpose
Evidence from previous literature indicates that adopting a new innovative technology has a positive impact on a company’s business performance. Much less work has been carried out into examining whether a technology adoption has impact on corporate reputation. This paper aims to examine the latter topic in a context where social media is the channel used to share news about the introduction of a new technology. The empirical setting of the study consists of five retail companies located in the USA that decided to include Bitcoin as a payment platform.
Design/methodology/approach
Twitter data were used to measure how sharing news about the adoption of new technology could affect the reputation of the companies selected, keeping a clear distinction between the volume of data relating to social media responses and the sentiment expressed in the tweets. A panel vector autoregression model was used to incorporate series of data relating to news items, volume and sentiment.
Findings
The results show that the news about the adoption of a new technology has a positive impact on both the volume of tech-related tweets and the sentiment expressed in the tweets themselves, although the patterns of these two effects are different. The resulting impact decreases after a few days, both in volume and in sentiment.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis has limitations that future research could address by extending and diversifying the examined companies and the social media used as data sources. The research suggests that managers in medium-sized companies can leverage on the introduction of new technologies that have a direct impact on their customers and gain reputational benefits in terms of immediate visibility.
Originality/value
The research introduces an additional dimension of analysis to the current stream of corporate reputation. Although the literature has already covered the dynamics of response to events on Twitter, by focusing on the adoption of the new Bitcoin technology, the paper provides novel insights.
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The purpose of this paper was to extend the current knowledge on the impacts of activity-based workplaces (ABWs) on productivity in knowledge work. It offers more background…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to extend the current knowledge on the impacts of activity-based workplaces (ABWs) on productivity in knowledge work. It offers more background information that is needed to properly evaluate ABWs’ suitability for different organisations. In the results section, ABWs are compared to the cellular and open-plan office types.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using a survey method with 5,841 respondents. The data were collected between 2015 and 2019 from 32 public-sector organisations.
Findings
The findings of this paper reveal that ABWs offer clear advantages over the other office types but requires careful design and well-implemented solutions. The superiority between ABWs and cellular offices also depends on workers’ profiles and needs and is not for everyone.
Practical implications
For practitioners, this paper offers valuable information to compare the three office types: ABW, cellular and open-plan. It also highlights the importance of careful planning and good implementation, which are both essential to making the ABW environment productive for employees. Finally, this paper clearly provides evidence that ABWs and open-plan offices differ in their facilities and productivity.
Originality/value
This paper included a unique and large sample with open variables, which are fairly rare in ABW-related papers. It also provides evidence that ABWs, when implemented correctly, seem to be an excellent option for some work profiles.
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Pia Sirola, Annu Haapakangas, Marjaana Lahtinen and Virpi Ruohomäki
The purpose of this case study is to investigate how the personnel in an organization experienced the process of change when moving from private offices to an activity-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to investigate how the personnel in an organization experienced the process of change when moving from private offices to an activity-based office (ABO) and how their perceptions of change were associated with changes in their satisfaction with the work environment a year after relocation.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparative pre-post study design and mixed methods were used. Survey data was obtained from 154 employees before the relocation and 146 after the relocation. The data on the 105 employees who responded to both surveys were statistically analyzed. Representatives of different units were interviewed (n = 17) and documentary material was analyzed as complementary material.
Findings
The personnel’s criticisms concerned the reasons for the change, their opportunities to influence the office design and the extent to which their views were taken into account. Environmental satisfaction decreased after moving to the ABO. The personnel’s ratings of the workplace change process before the relocation were associated with the later change in environmental satisfaction. Based on logistic regression, the degree of agreement with management’s reasons for the change was the strongest predictor of the change in environmental satisfaction.
Practical implications
Organizations that move from private offices to an ABO should invest in high-quality change management and simultaneously develop both work and facilities. Special attention should be paid to clarifying the rationale for the change to the employees and to providing them with opportunities to influence during the change. Organizations should continue to monitor user experiences and evaluate the effects of the change after the office redesign and should take corrective action as needed.
Originality/value
This empirical case study is unique as it combined qualitative and quantitative methods and investigated the process of relocation and its outcomes in a one-year follow-up. This approach captured the importance of managing change and assessing the long-term effects of office redesign when moving from private offices to an ABO.
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Eunhwa Yang, Yujin Kim and Sungil Hong
This study aims to understand how knowledge workers working from home during COVID-19 changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how knowledge workers working from home during COVID-19 changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a survey targeting workers in the USA recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 1,651 responses were collected and 648 responses were used for the analysis.
Findings
The perceived work-life balance improved during the pandemic compared to before, while the balance of physical boundaries between the workplace and home decreased. Workplace flexibility, environmental conditions of home offices and organizational supports are positively associated with productivity, satisfaction with working from home and work-life balance during the pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
While the strict traditional view of “showing” up in the office from Monday through Friday is likely on the decline, the hybrid workplace with flexibility can be introduced as some activities are not significantly affected by the work location, either at home-based or corporate offices. The results of this study also highlight the importance of organizations to support productivity and satisfaction in the corporate office as well as home. With the industry collaboration, future research of relatively large sample sizes and study sites, investigating workers’ needs and adapted patterns of use in home-based and corporate offices, will help corporate real estate managers make decisions and provide some level of standardization of spatial efficiency and configurations of corporate offices as well as essential supports for home offices.
Originality/value
The pandemic-enforced working-from-home practices awaken the interdependence between corporate and home environments, how works are done and consequently, the role of the physical workplace. This study built a more in-depth understanding of how workers who were able to continue working from home during COVID-19 changed or not changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices.
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Despite the growing emphasis on revitalizing the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector in Bangladesh, very little discussion has taken place on reforming…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the growing emphasis on revitalizing the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector in Bangladesh, very little discussion has taken place on reforming the current inflexible transition pathways, from TVET to the universities. This paper aims to reflect critically on the existing literature on TVET, in the global and national context, and the experiences of students and TVET experts, to develop a model of collaboration between the polytechnic institutes and the universities in Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows a qualitative strategy of enquiry, using a mix of critical reflection on literature on TVET and higher education and unstructured interviews with two TVET experts, four TVET students and four students from a public university. It draws on the theories of collaboration and uses exemplary cases to illustrate and support the line of reasoning.
Findings
This paper identifies that there is resource dependency between the polytechnic institutes and universities in Bangladesh, and their institutional environment necessitates them to form collaboration to ensure flexible transition pathway, from polytechnic institutes to universities; this paper proposes a model for such collaboration.
Practical implications
This paper offers a guideline for forming collaboration among the relevant stakeholders.
Social implications
Collaboration between polytechnic institutes and universities in Bangladesh is likely to address the inequitable nature of TVET, by improving its social status and acceptance, as well as allowing higher income opportunity and greater mobility for the TVET graduates, coming especially from humble socio-economic backgrounds.
Originality/value
This paper contributes in the recent discussions on how collaboration among different stakeholders can contribute in achieving the sustainable development goals, with special emphasis on TVET.